Team 7
by DarkAnimeAngel13
Summary: What if Hinata had gotten picked for another team?  See how her life might differ if she hadn't been put on team 8, but instead was on team 7.
1. Chapter 1

Hatake Kakashi sat in the darkly lit room, waiting for the Hokage to come so he, along with the two other jonin, Yuuhi Kurenai and Sarutobi Asuma, could pick out children for their genin teams. Since there were only eight new ninja that passed the exam, one team would have to only consist of two genin. He planned on leading that team. Finally, the Sandaime Hokage walked into the room and sat in his large chair at the head of the table.

"So, there were eight passing Academy students..." The Hokage looked over a paper. "That's three teams. Two consisting of three genin and one with two." The older man explained to himself.

"If it's anything, Lord Hokage," Kakashi spoke up. "I'm willing to take the two-manned team so I can focus my attention on the Uchiha boy. I don't really care who else is on my team." Asuma and Kurenai glared at the lazy jonin, both knowing another reason why he only wanted a two-manned cell.

"There will be no need for that, Kakashi." Umino Iruka walked into the room, completely worn out and he looked like a tornado had made a direct hit on him. The four adults sitting there noticed that he didn't have a headband on. "Uzumaki Naruto passed the exam."

"How did that happen?" Kurenai was curious. "I thought--" But Iruka cut her off by explaining the battle between Naruto, Iruka, and Mizuki.

"I see. So Mizuki betrayed us?" The Hokage asked, after Iruka was done with his story. He didn't look surprised.

"Mmhmm. That means there will be three three-manned cells." Iruka leaned back in his chair. "Meaning Kakashi won't get to be lazy." He chuckled to himself. The scarecrow-haired ninja didn't say anything.

"Kakashi, you wanted to train Sasuke, right? Well, why don't you take Naruto, too?" The old man turned his attention toward the silver-haired ninja. Kakashi just nodded.

"I'll take Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi..." Asuma looked at the Hokage, allowing his voice trail off as he lit another cigarrette.

"Then I'll take...umm..." Kurenai flipped through the papers. "Inzuka, Aburame, and Hyuuga."

"That leaves you with Uchiha, Uzumaki, and Haruno." Iruka looked at him.

"Kurenai, why don't I take the Hyuuga." Kakashi offered. Kurenai looked puzzled. "Maybe it'll be good for the Haruno to be on a team that doesn't hate eachother." Kakashi thought back to a fight he had noted while walking past the Academy playground one day. Sasuke and Naruto were fighting while Iruka was trying to break it up.

"He's got a point." Iruka said as he looked down. "Plus, Hinata has a very low self-esteem, so maybe being on a team with Naruto will be good for her." Iruka's lips curled into a smile as he reminisced about the Academy's past days. "Hinata always watches Naruto, anyway. It might break her heart if she's not on a team with him. It might be nice for Naruto, too, if he's on a team with someone that believes in him." Kurenai nodded. Kakashi was surprised, but didn't look it, keeping his cool face on.

"Then it's settled." The Hokage stood up. "Kakashi will look over Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata. Kurenai will look over Sakura, Kiba, and Shino, and Asuma will look over Choji, Shikamaru, and Ino. I expect you all to be at the Academy tomarrow on time." The last two words were mainly focused toward Kakashi, but he didn't say anything. He gave a long stare at the three jonin before saying "Good luck," and walking out the door.

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Hyuuga Hinata dreaded getting put on a team, because she knew she wouldn't be on a team with Naruto. He hadn't passed the exam, so she might not see him until she had a day off. She sighed as her steps took her closer and closer to the Academy, where students were flooding in so they could be assigned a jonin instructor. She walked into the room just when she heard one of her comrades say, "Naruto?! What are you doing here?!! This is only for _passing_ students!" She gasped as she looked down to the seat below her, where the blonde-haired boy was sitting.

"What? You don't see the headband??" Naruto didn't even take his head off the desk. The other boy just walked away and Naruto gave a chuckle because he had won. Hinata giggled. Then came a soft voice.

"Excuse me please." Hinata noticed the pink-haired kunoichi, Sakura, standing by Naruto, her eyes focused on him. Hinata saw Naruto's face light up at her. Then came the ever-so obnoxious "Move it, Naruto! I'm trying to get around you!!!" Hinata and Naruto both looked at the person Sakura was looking at. Naruto glared at him, thinking the same thing as Hinata.

_'What do girls see in that jerk?'_ But Sakura can't read minds, so she simply pushed past Naruto and sat down in the seat in between them. She stared with dreamy eyes at the raven-haired boy, who didn't even glance at her. Uchiha Sasuke stared straight at the front of the room, not letting anything disrupt his thinking. Just then, Naruto hopped in front of Sasuke, propping himself up on the desk.

"What are you looking at?" Both the boys asked, giving eachother evil glares. Then, someone behind Naruto bumped into him. The entire room gasped at the sight. The boy had made Naruto and Sasuke _kiss_.   
"O-oops! Sorry!!" The boy said as Naruto and Sasuke turned away from eachother in disguist. It was quite funny, their reactions.

"Naruto, you--!!!" Sasuke spat on the floor.

"My mouth! It's poisened!!" Naruto yelled, clutching his throat. Then, he stopped, feeling the bloodlust. Sakura and a few other girls gave him an evil stare.

"Narutoooooo!!!!" Sakura punched her fist into her hand.

"W-wait, Sakura-chan! It's not like that!! Really! Uh..." He looked up at the girl right before she, along with about five other girls, threw punches. By the time they were done, Naruto didn't even look like a person. Hinata felt really sorry for him, but she didn't say anything that might boost his spirits. She was too shy. Finally, Iruka-sensei came into the room with a clip board.

"Alright, everyone! I'm about to announce off teams. When I'm done, report to the room assigned!" He started announcing off teams, not that they were in order. "Team 10, Akimichi Choji, Nara Shikamaru, and Yamanaka Ino. Team 8, Aburame Shino, Haruno Sakura," Hinata saw Sakura's eyes light up as she looked at Sasuke, hoping they would be on the same team. "and Inzuka Kiba." Sakura instantly deflated. Hinata giggled. "Team 7, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke and Naruto glared at eachother. "and Hyuuga Hinata." Almost all the girls in the class glared at Hinata, especially Sakura. Hinata sank in her seat, embarrased out of her mind. But inside she was screaming "YEEEESSSSSS!!!!! NARUTO-KUN AND ME ARE ON THE SAME TEAM!!!!!" Not that she let her emotions get the best of her. She smiled secretly at the blonde, praising Kami-sama for the wonderful gift he bestowed upon her.

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Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata sat bored in the small room, waiting for their jonin instructor. "Man! This isn't fair!" Naruto looked out into the hallway. "All the other teams left already!" Sasuke raised an eyebrow as Naruto put a chalkboard eraser into the door. Hinata stared wide-eyed at the genin's prank. "Serves him right for making us wait.

"Dobe. Do you really think that will work on a jonin?" Sasuke glanced at him.

"N-Naruto-kun..." Hinata blushed. "I don't t-think that's such a g-good idea... O-Our sensei m-might get angry..." She stared at Naruto. Naruto smiled back at her, making her blush deepen.

"Don't worry, Hinata! It's just a little prank!" He said, sitting back down on his chair. Just then, a hand appeared in the doorway. It pushed the door aside, making the chalkboard eraser fall right onto the silver-haired jonin's head. It made a small _plop_ on the floor. Naruto stared at the jonin with a wide smile. Sasuke didn't even flinch at the words then spoken, but Hinata made a horrified look.

"Well...from first impression I'd have to say..." He began in a calm and collected voice. "I HATE YOU!!!!!" He yelled at his new genin team. All three of them, even Sasuke, gave a surprised look.

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"Well," Kakashi began. He and his genin team sat on the rooftop of the Academy. "Since I don't know anything about any of you, why don't we discuss ourselves? You know, hobbies, likes, dislikes, hopes and dreams for the future. Stuff like that." He suggested. No one started talking.

"A-ano...Kakashi-sensei...s-since we don't know a-anything about you, w-why don't you start?" Hinata looked at the jonin with curious and embarassed eyes. The scarecrow-man sighed.

"Alright." He began. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I like a lot of stuff, and I dislike a lot of stuff. My hopes for the future are none of your buisness, but anway, I have a lot of hobbies!" He smiled underneath his mask at Hinata's and Naruto's expressions.

"Y'know..." Naruto looked at his team. "He said a lot, but all we really learned was his name."

"Why don't I learn about you, now. Let's start with you, on the right." Kakashi-sensei pointed to Naruto.

"Me? Well, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like the bowls of ramen at Ichiraku-jii-san's place. I like it even more when he decides to give me ramen for free! I dislike the 3-minute wait after he puts the boiling water into the bowl. My hope for the future is,"

_'It seems like his entire life is focused around ramen.'_ Kakashi thought to himself.

"To one day become Hokage-sama! Then everyone in the village will have to acknowledge my exitence at last!" He exclaimed. Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "My hobbies are...pranks and practical jokes, I guess."

"Very good. Now, how about the young lady on the left?" He nodded toward Hinata. She blushed and gulped.

"M-my name is Hyuuga Hinata. I-I like...well...I like flower pressing and...a-ano..." Her blush deepened. "A-Anyway...I dislike..." She thought about something. Then she shook her head and sighed. "M-My dreams for the future a-are to be a g-good leader for my clan." She looked at her feet. Kakashi nodded and looked at Sasuke.  
"Why don't you finish us up here?" He asked the raven-haired boy. Sasuke didn't take his eyes off Kakashi as he spoke.

"I don't see why I should talk about my likes when I like almost nothing. I have too many dislikes to list. I don't have any 'dreams', that's just a word to me. But what I do have is determination and there is someone I have sworn...to kill." Hinata and Naruto felt themselves shudder.

"Well...let's get started now that we're all finished. I expect you three to meet me in training area 14 tomarrow morning. You can go and have the rest of the day off. I'd advise that you didn't eat breakfast tomarrow morning unless you like vomiting." He took a breath, giving Hinata the chance to ask a question.

"A-ano...Sensei...what are we doing t-tomarrow that's so extreme?" Both of her teammates gave a curious look at their sensei, wondering the same thing.

"It's another test."

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed. "But we already passed the Academy exam! Why take another test?!" He jumped from his seat.

"To see if you're all really worth my time." Kakashi said cooly. "See you tomarrow morning." He said before dissapearing in a puff of smoke. The three genin looked at eachother before Sasuke got up and walked off the rooftop, leaving Naruto and Hinata alone. Hinata blushed as she stared into her crush's face.

"A-ano...Hinata..." Naruto looked at her. "W-What do you really think of...y'know...being on a team with me?" He finally got the question out. After staring at him for a moment, she finally understood why he was asking her that question. She had watched him for so long, that she knew about all the evil and hateful glares the villagers gave him, and she knew he was wondering if she was that kind of person. She looked at her feet before answering him.

"I-I think that w-whoever get's put on a-a team with you, Naruto-kun, i-is a very lucky person." She felt her cheeks turn a dark shade of crimson, so she refused to look up at him. But she knew, by the sound of his voice, that he was excited.

"R-Really?!" Naruto was practically jumping up and down. "You're not just saying that are you?" She shook her head, feeling her face burn into another shade of red. "Thank you, Hinata!" He said, throwing his arms around her. Her eyes widened as her face turned so deep of a crimson it looked like she might explode. He finally pulled away from her and looked at her face. "Ah, Hinata? Are you sick?" He asked, putting his hand on her forehead. She instantly went into a vegetable stage.

_'Naruto-kun...Naruto-kun's touch!'_ That was all she could think about. Then he took his hand away from her head.

"You don't feel warm." He shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, well. Hey! I got an idea! Since it's already lunch time and we haven't eaten, why don't I treat you to ramen and Ichiraku's?" His eyes lit up when she looked up at him. He then reached into his pocked and pulled out two coupons. "I have these coupons for a free bowl of ramen. I was going to use both of them, but it'd be better to share!"

"N-No, Naruto-kun. Y-You should use b-both on yourself, like you o-originally planned. I-I don't want to g-get in the way..." She looked at her feet.

"I want to share with you, Hinata! Besides, I should get to know my teammates!" His smile widened. "You're much nicer than Sasuke-temme, anyway!" Hinata looked at her feet again.

"M-Maybe Sasuke-kun is still in the b-building and we c-could invite him, t-too." She held back a smile. "Y-You should get to know a-all your teammates..." Naruto stuck out his bottom lip and crossed his arms.

"Hinata, do you not want to be alone with me?" He asked, worried almost.

"N-No! That's not i-it! I-I don't mind e-eating alone with y-you, it's just that," She looked at her feet. "I-I don't know Sasuke-kun very w-well, so I thought..." Her voice trailed off.

"Join the club. Sasuke's so stubborn and mean that no one really knows him." Naruto looked up at the sky. "But, in a way, me and him are similar, y'know?"

"H-How?" Hinata hadn't really noticed before, but Naruto can be really sincere sometimes.

"Neither of us... Nevermind. I wish I could tell you my life story, but we have to get to Ichiraku's before the lunch rush!" He said, grabbing her hand. He jumped off the Academy roof, just to land safely on another rooftop. He pulled Hinata along as he jumped from roof to roof. Hinata was wearing a deep shade of crimson.

_'Naruto-kun...is holding my hand!! If I died now, I'd be happy.'_ She thought to herself. She sighed. After awhile, they jumped off the another rooftop and landed in front of Ichiraku-jii-san's place. Hinata had never eaten here before. Naruto pushed the curtain aside and walked in with Hinata, just then letting go of her hand.

"Naruto!" Teuchi-jii-san greeted his best customer. "Who's your friend?" He asked, looking toward Hinata.

"This is Hyuuga Hinata. She's my new teammate!" Naruto took a seat on a stool right in front of Teuchi. Hinata sat down next to him, a light blush coating her face. She nodded in greeting and he smiled back.

"Isn't there another one? I don't know much about being a ninja, but I do know that there are three-manned cells." He looked from Naruto to Hinata and back. Naruto just turned away on his stool, sticking out his bottom lip and crossing his arms, so Hinata spoke up.

"U-Uchiha Sasuke-kun c-couldn't...ano...m-make it." Hinata poked her fingers together, cursing herself inside for doing it.

"Uchiha, eh?" He asked. "Naruto's told me about him. I heard he was real stuck up. Is that true?" Hinata didn't have the chance to say anything before Naruto spoke up.

"Yes! He's so stubborn! And he hardly ever talks, but when he does, he says something mean!" Naruto began listing off faults about Sasuke while Teuchi handed Hinata a menu. Then, Hinata and Naruto felt bloodlust creeping. Naruto slowly turned around to see Sakura standing there, along with a tall boy who's high collar and sun glasses didn't allow you to see his face, and another boy with his hood up and a small dog.

"You're not talking about my precious Sasuke-kun, are you, Naruto?" Sakura asked in a sweet voice, but it was mechanical and evil sounding all the same. "Because that would be stupid. Knowing you, though, it's not surprising." Her cold eyes stared at him. "Like someone as stupid as you could ever be Hokage, especially when you can't even learn to keep your mouth shut!" Naruto didn't say anything, but prepared himself for the oncoming pain she was about to inflict on him. Before he closed his eyes, he saw her fist enclose. After a few moments, Naruto wondered why there was no pain. He slowly opened his eyes to see Hinata, standing over him, holding Sakura's fist. Both of their arms were shaking.

"What? Hinata?" Naruto asked her, but she didn't say anything. She refused to take her eyes off Sakura.

"How dare you say such mean and cruel things to Naruto-kun!!" Her Byakugan activated, making Sakura tense. "Why must you be so mean to him all the time?! He never did anything to you except compliment you and praise your hard work! Why do you have to take out your sorrows on him?!" She flicked the pink-haired girls hand away with her own arm. "You don't have to be mean to anyone, especially Naruto-kun! Maybe you should talk to him once in a while and get to know him before you judge him! Then maybe you can respect him and his dreams because," Hinata took a step forward, making Sakura take a step back. "He will be Hokage someday!" She slowly walked back to her stool. "If you ever want to take your pain out on someone, try a pillow or a tree!" She sat back down and looked at the menu again, deactivating her Byakugan. Sakura, Kiba, and Shino wearily walked out, leaving the two other genin alone.

"And don't you ever try and scare off my best customer again, you brat!" Teuchi shouted after the three ninja.

"Ah, Hinata..." Naruto couldn't say anything except, "Thank you. And you know, you didn't studder the whole time you were talking!"

"Y-You're welcome, Naruto-kun." She said, blushing.

"No, seriously, Hinata! That was amazing! I've never seen anyone stick up for me like that! I guess..." He looked at the ceiling. "...you really don't mind being on a team with me." He smiled at her and she smiled back. "Anyway, Ojii-san, I want miso ramen!" He leaned forward, propping himself on the table with his elbows. Hinata contiued to scan the menu before she decided on what she wanted.

"I-I'll have the p-pork ramen." She handed Teuchi the menu. He nodded and went off to prepare their food. While he was gone, Naruto talked about random stuff, and Hinata couldn't help but smile. When he asked her a question, she ususally shook her head yes or no, not trusting her words. Finally, the food came.

"Idatakimasu!" Naruto said before slurping up his ramen like lightning.

"I-Idatakimasu..." Hinata barely whispered before she began eating. Hinata didn't get done with her ramen until Naruto was ordering his fourth bowl.

"Oh, do you want another bowl, Hinata?" He asked with ramen still in his mouth. She smiled and shook her head.

"N-No, thank you. I-I'm quite full, actually. B-but I'll wait for you to g-get done, Naruto-kun." She blushed and poked her index fingers together again.

"Thanks! Y'know, Hinata," He said as Teuchi put another bowl in front of him and Ayame took his other one. "You're a pretty cool person." She felt her blush deepen as Naruto smiled at her. She couldn't help but smile as he dug into another bowl, evenly slurping up the noodles with his chopsticks. Finally, he got done and he paid for his meal. Hinata began taking money out of her pocket, but Naruto stopped her. "I said I was treating you, remember?" He asked, setting the two free meal coupons with his other money.

"A-Arigato, Naruto-kun..." She said.

"No problem! I like treating my friends!" He smiled, making her blush. "Bye, Hinata!" He said, turning away from her and walking off. She didn't say anything, but inside she was celebrating. Naruto-kun...she had just been on a date with Naruto-kun! She sighed, pushing the memory to the back of her head as she turned away and walked slowly to her home.

_'Naruto-kun...'_

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WEEEEELLLL?!?!?!? Is it good? I think so, but, hey! I'm the one writing it. This suddenly popped into my head a few days ago...

"A FEW WEEKS AGO!!!!" My conscience yells from the back of my mind(Who just so happens to look exactly like Kyuubi).

Alright, alright, FINE! A few weeks ago. Anyway, I hope it was good! This is just the first chapter, and I'm sorry if the characters were a little OOC, but I just started. Oh, in a few chapters, Naruto and Sasuke both will get _very_ OOC, but it's part of the story line, so...

I'm not sure about pairings yet, but I know that this will probably be a NaruHina. Other pairings will come in later chapters!

I wonder if the entire story line of the Naruto series would change if Hinata were on a team with Naruto and Sasuke...wait! That's why I'm writing this story! To find out! HAHAHAHA!

Oh, and, for your entertainment, here are a few translations:

_-kun:_ Most commonly used on boys. It means you hold the person in respect or you cherish that person. Naruto cherishes very little people, which is why he doesn't use this on boys.

_-chan:_ Vise Versa of -kun. Most commonly used on girls.

_-sensei:_ Meaning _teacher_.

_-jii-san _or_ Ojii-san:_ Old man or grandpa.

_Gomene: _I'm sorry or sorry. I don't know if I've used this one yet.

_Arigato:_ Thanks or thank you.

_Idatakimasu:_ Used in the Japanese language to say "Let's eat!" Or "Time to eat!" It's very formal and proper, which is why all characters in the Japanese Naruto say it before eating. The 'u' on the end is silent!

I think that's all of them! Tell me if I missed any!

_DarkAnimeAngel13_


	2. Chapter 2

All Hinata could think about was her 'date' with Naruto yesterday as she headed to the training ground Kakashi-sensei assigned them. She had left a little early so she could have some time to herself when she got there to think. Like Kakashi-sensei told her not to do, she didn't eat breakfast, but she wasn't really hungry at all. She sighed to herself as she hopped into the training ground. There was another reason she left early. Father would be very displeased with her if he knew that she had left half an hour early. A Hyuuga is to never be late, but to not be early either. Not that that really had anything to do with her. Her father didn't... She pushed that thought to the back of her mind as she thought about the test she and her teammates would be undergoing. It must be hard considering Kakashi-sensei didn't want them to eat. She sat against a tree, looking into the sky through the tree's branches. The clearing they would be training in was fairly large. Just then, there was a rustle in the bushes. Hinata immediatly hopped to her feet and steadied her hand next to her shuriken pouch. She sat back down when Sasuke jumped out of the bushes.

"Ano...S-Sasu--!" He put his hand over her mouth and put his index finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet. He watched the bushes in which he just came from for several moments before he sighed and took his hand away from Hinata's mouth. He leaned against a tree and took a deep breath. "S-Sasuke-kun...w-what was that?" Hinata finally asked after studying him over.

"They were chasing me again." He said, glaring at the bushes once again. "I think I lost them in the village, though."

"W-Who?" Hinata thought about it for a moment before she asked the question.

"Those idiot girls." Was his simple answer. Then Hinata got it. "I thought that, if I left early, they wouldn't be out. I was wrong. They're like bugs, scittering to the scent of food! Disguisting." Hinata held back a giggle. Just then, Naruto plopped into the clearing.

"Yo!" He said with the wave of his hand. "I'm glad I'm not late! I rushed here!" He smiled and took a few deep breaths to get his breathing steady.

"Dobe." Sasuke said, walking to join his two teammates in the center of the clearing so they could wait for their sensei. It seemed like forever, they waited there. Finally, after about a half hour, Kakashi-sensei walked into the clearing.

"YOU'RE LATE!!!" Naruto pointed at him accusingly.

"Sorry." He said. Then, he took a small timer out of his pouch and set it on one of the three tree stumps in near the edge of the clearing. "Now, I've set this clock for noon." He hit the top of it, making it start ticking. The three ninja looked at him with confused expressions. "I have two small bells connected to my belt. If each of you can get a bell, you get a bento I have filled with lunches."

"Demo, Kakashi-sensei, there are only two bells and there are three of us!" Naruto kind of asked, kind of stated.

"I know. And there are only two lunches. That means one of you will be going without lunch. That one person will prove to be the weakest of the three of you, and will ultimately get sent back to the Academy for extra training. If none of you can get a bell, you will all get sent back to the Academy for more training." He paused, letting that information sink in. Just then, Naruto felt his stomach growl. He clutched it, blushing. Kakashi held back a smirk under his mask. "You have two hours. Ready, GO!!!" He yelled. The four jumped away. Kakashi landed steadily in the middle of the clearing, waiting for the attack. _'They've all hidden themselves perfectly.'_ He thought, looking around.

"It's time to get my title as genin!! Naruto yelled, standing in perfect view in front of the pond. "That'll give me the extra step to becoming Hokage-sama!" Hinata looked dumbfoundedly at her perch in a tree behind Kakashi, and Sasuke shook his head, muttering something like 'dobe' under his breath from the place he was in under a bush. "Let's fight, Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi sighed as he reached into his back pouch. _'Kunai?!' _He thought, preparing himself for the attack. Then, Kakashi pulled out a book. The title read "Icha Icha Paradise". Naruto's jaw dropped.

"Well? I thought you were coming at me." Kakashi looked at him.

"But...I thought... That's a book!" Naruto couldn't take his eyes off the small paper-back book that was opened in front of Kakashi-sensei's face.

"I know. I've been dying to know what happens next! Well? Come at me!" His eyes glanced at Naruto from the book. Naruto shrugged and started at his sensei. He ran straight at him.

_'What an idiot!' _Sasuke thought from his hiding spot. _'No caution. No planning. And he thinks he's going to become Hokage?!'_ Naruto decided to start out with a kick. Kakashi ducked as he chuckled at a page in his book. _'His full attention is on that book. He's just toying with the Dobe.'_ Naruto went to punch the teacher, but he caught it, throwing Naruto instead. This went on for awhile. Finally, Kakashi-sensei got tired of it and decided to end it. He made a sign, charging straight at Naruto from behind. _'That's the sign of the tiger! Naruto has no hope now!'_ Sasuke watched as his sensei ran at Naruto. He then dug his fingers straight into Naruto's behind, sending him flying. Sasuke and Hinata both went vegetable stage for a moment. Naruto flew straight into the pond. He cursed Kakashi under the water before getting an idea. From what Sasuke saw, one Naruto went in and five came out. They all attacked Kakashi. _'Each one is solid, not the shadowy illusion the Academy taught us. So this is the Dobe's special tecnique.'_ Kakashi-sensei then turned into Naruto. All the Naruto's looked at eachother with accusing expresions.

"You're the fake one!" They shouted at eachother. They then started beating eachother up. Then, they got an idea. "If the fake one isn't part of me, then if I make them all dissapear, they won't!" The others nodded. Then, there were five poofs and the real Naruto stood alone in the clearing.

_'Poor Naruto-kun! He looks so beaten up!'_ Hinata thought. She wanted to help him by jumping down from the tree, but she knew that wouldn't be a good idea, giving her hiding spot away. She looked around her hiding spot. Then, she got an idea. She used her bloodline limit, the Byakugan, and scanned the area. She slowly looked around before she found him. She was so surprised that she jumped and fell out of the tree. He was right behind her! She shook her head and flipped herself over, landing on her feet. Since her hiding spot was given up, she walked into the clearing.

"Hinata!" Naruto walked to her.

"Shush!" She put her finger to her lips. He nodded. She then whispered to him. "T-The only way we're going to get t-those bells is if we work together!" He nodded again, looking at her expectantly. "S-Sasuke-kun needs to b-be here for the plan to work."

"He's hidden." Naruto said matter-of-factly.

"But I-I know where he is." She looked around the clearing. "We n-need to get to h-him without K-Kakashi-sensei noticing. So, you stay here and c-cover me. I'll g-go talk to him." Hinata's confidence was slowly building up as she talked to him. Naruto nodded and looked around the clearing. Hinata jumped away, so fast you had to really keep an eye on her. She went opposite from where Sasuke was and went all the way around. She sneaked up behind him and gently tapped his shoulder. In a flash he was up, turned around, and had a kunai out.

"Hinata. What do you want?" He put his kunai back and looked at her with an annoyed expression. "Kakashi-sensei's going to find my hiding place if you don't hurry."

"I-I was just thinking..." She poked her index fingers away and looked down at her feet, avoiding his gaze. "M-Maybe it'll be e-easier if w-we work together to get the bells..." She looked up at him. He thought about it for a moment before he answered.

"I work better alone."

"Yeah, but, this'll be easier!" She pleaded. "I-I already have a plan and everything! And you're part of it! Besides," She looked at him with mixed emotions on her face. "we're a team! We have to learn to work together sooner or later!" Her fists were in balls at her side. She was a few inches shorter than her teammate. He thought about her begging and sighed.

"What makes you think this plan will work?" He asked. She just smiled.

"Because I can see through Kakashi-sensei's whole scheme here. He knows we probably wont work together, so he wont be expecting this." He gave her a long look before he sighed and nodded.

"Fine, but if that dobe screws anything up, I wont work with him." Sasuke closed his eyes and pointed at Naruto with his thumb.

"Okay."

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Hinata jumped out into the clearing after she traveled away from Sasuke's hiding spot. She had explained her plan to Sasuke, and he seemed to like it, though it was hard to tell with him.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata came up behind him. He jumped, but sighed in relief when he saw Hinata. "G-Gomene, didn't mean to scare y-you." He just shook his head, not trusting his own words. "S-Sasuke-kun agreed to help us." She noted the surprised look that crossed Naruto's face. "Anyway, h-here's the plan. Sasuke-kun is h-hidden. I'm not going to tell you where, but h-he's hidden. I want you t-to use your K-Kage Bushin to fool Kakashi-sensei. C-Conceal yourself in that tree behind you, or anywhere around it. I-I know where Kakashi-sensei is h-hiding, so I'm going to scare him out into this clearing. I-I'll fight him until I give you t-the signal, which is when I activate my Byakugan. T-Then you and Sasuke-kun will attack him from either side. You will s-stay hidden, but a B-Bushin will attack him. W-we'll all fight until me and Sasuke-kun s-shout 'now'. Then you jump down and attack Kakashi-sensei's back. Then, me and Sasuke-kun will get the bells."

"Why don't I get a bell?!" Naruto asked, sticking out his lower lip.

"Kakashi-sensei will pass all of us. I know it. T-Trust me. Ready?" She asked. "Go." They jumped away. Naruto hid in his assigned tree while Hinata went straight forward, after Kakashi-sensei. Naruto and Sasuke waited for several minutes before Hinata finally ran out into the clearing, followed by Kakashi.

Hinata went for a punch, but Kakashi-sensei grabbed her hand. She then circled around him and kicked him square in the back. He dissapeared in a puff of smoke, and was behind Hinata. She evaded his kick and went for another punch, but he knocked her hand away. She jumped backward several feet and tried to catch her breath. _'This one's different. I can't even read my 'Icha Icha Paradise' when I'm fighting her.'_ Kakashi thought as he ducked to avoid her kick. Then, she activated her blood-line limit. Sasuke and a fake Naruto instantly jumped out into the clearing, attacking Kakashi. The surprise attack took him off gaurd, letting Sasuke kick his side. Kakashi flew until he did a handstand and landed on his feet. The Bushin was behind him, making a punch. Kakashi blocked it and jumped away. The Bushin narrowly evaded a kick. Kakashi was so caught up in the Bushin's attacks that he didn't see Hinata in front of him. She delivered a kick right into his stomach, but it wasn't very hard, just throwing him off balance. Then, Sasuke looked at Hinata and she looked back at him.

"NOW!!!!!" They yelled together. Kakashi looked behind him just in time to see Naruto wrap his arms around him while the Bushin dissapeared. Naruto's legs shot out and tripped him. Sasuke and Hinata then ran up and snatched the bells. Kakashi was surprised. They had actually done it. Naruto jumped away from his sensei, landing next to his teammates. Just then, the timer went off, announcing the fact that it was noon. Kakashi let out a sigh, admitting defeat.

"YATTA!!! We did it!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air and jumped up. Sasuke smirked and muttered something under his breath. Hinata smiled and blushed at his childish behavior.

"You three did a great job, working together." Kakashi said, leaning against a tree. "But I'm afraid that only Hinata and Sasuke get lunch." That was the rain on Naruto's parade.

"What?!" Naruto's eyes widened. "But that doesn't--"

"I'll admit that you three did an excellent job, but don't forget that it was Sasuke and Hinata that got the bells." Kakashi pointed out. "And Naruto, you tried to steal the lunches for yourself." Naruto stared dumfoundedly at his sensei, clearly recalling the 'incident' where he tried to snag the lunches for himself. A few minutes later, Naruto was tied to a stump and Sasuke and Hinata were eating. Kakashi-sensei warned them not to feed Naruto because he tried to steal the lunches. Naruto didn't say anything at all. Hinata looked at him with pity. Finally she gave up.

"H-Here, Naruto-kun." She handed him her lunch.

"What?! But Kakashi-sensei told you guys not to feed me!"

"Relax, Dobe. Just take her food. Besides, he's probably miles away by now anyway." Sasuke sighed.

"Thanks, Hinata." He said. Maybe with a small tear in his eye. Hinata smiled. She took a kunai out and cut Naruto's ropes. He greedily looked at the food before there was a massive wind. Naruto and Hinata stared wide-eyed at their sensei, who came in with the whirlwind.

"YOU---!!!" He began in a mean tone. Sauske's hand instantly shot down next to his kunai pouch. "---Pass!" He said in a sweet tone.

"What?" Naruto asked, his jaw slightly dropped.

"I told you not to feed Naruto, and you decided to anyway, which means that you have all learned a valuable lesson." He began. "You all learned how to look out for eachother. That's a big part of being a team. You need to look out for one-another if you before you even think about surviving. So, why don't we take the rest of the day off so you three can rest. Meet me at the Hokage Tower tomarrow for your first mission." He smiled. The four walked off, enjoying the rest of the day.

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"Oi, Hinata!" Naruto and his teammates were walking home after Kakashi-sensei walked away from them at the entrance from the training area. "Do you want to go eat dinner together again tonight?" His eyes held excitment. Why shouldn't they? He had just become an official genin! Hinata blushed.

"S-Sure, Naruto-kun..." She poked her index fingers together again. She was too shy to be alone with Naruto-kun again. "D-Do you want to come, t-too, Sasuke-kun?" Her soft lavender eyes looked into his cold onyx ones. "I-I'll pay for us." Naruto didn't seem to like the idea, but he didn't say anything.

"Sure. I don't care." His hands moved slightly in his pockets. "If you're treating us, I might as well." He said before turning down a street towards his home. "Where?" He stopped and looked at his smaller teammate.

"I-I don't know yet... How a-about we all meet here at 6 o'clock?" Sasuke nodded and contined walking away.

"Oi, Hinata, why'd you invite him?" Naruto asked after Sasuke dissapeared.

"I-I just thought it'd be nice to h-have all of us there. Besides, I-I'm the one treating you guys! I should g-get to invite anyone I want to." She had never really stuck up for herself, but she did it in such a small and quiet voice that Naruto didn't take it offensively. "W-We should get to know him anyway. H-He is our teammate, after all." They were walking again. Naruto looked at the sky with his head resting on his arms.

"You're right. Even if Sasuke is a temme, we're stuck with him, aren't we?" He asked. It was a rhetorical question. Hinata giggled.

"Yes."

----------------------------------------------------

Hinata waited at the assigned destination to meet with her team. She was the only one there. She hadn't even gone home this afternoon. She had been searching the streets for a restaurant that looked good. She had finally found one. She sat there thinking as the villagers walked around her. After a little while, Sasuke came walking up the street. His hands were in his pockets and his eyes were closed in thinking. "The Dobe isn't here yet?" He asked after he made it to where Hinata was.

"N-No." She looked toward where her and Naruto were walking just a few hours ago. "But I-I'm sure he'll be here soon." They stood there for a few minutes, and Hinata began noticing her and Sasuke's surroundings. There were more and more girls crowding. A girl with dark brown hair and muddy brown eyes walked by. _'That's the fourth time that girl has passed us.'_ She took note of a few other girls who had passed them more than twice, too.

"That Dobe better hurry. We need to get moving soon." Sasuke seemed to notice the girls, too. Finally, Naruto came running up the street.

"Sorry I'm late!" He huffed, putting his hands on his knees and taking a few deep breaths. "Do you have any idea where we're eating, Hinata?" He asked, regaining his composure.

"Yes. I-I found a restaurant that l-looked nice a few blocks away." She said and started walking. Naruto talked most of the way. Hinata listened to his voice as it made jokes and talked about nothing in particular. But she couldn't look past the people giving hateful stares at the whisker-cheeked boy. He seemed to ignore them, but every now and then, his voice would trail off as he looked at his surroundings. Sasuke seemed to notice the mean glares people gave the boy, because he would glare back sometimes. Hinata would, too.

She not only noticed the hateful stares from the villagers, but the jealous stares that girls gave her. She _was_ walking in between the two boys, so she was next to Sasuke. She didn't say anything about the small group of girl's that were following them, either. After awhile, they got to the restaurant. Hinata walked in first. Then Sasuke, then Naruto.

"No! You get out of here!" Someone that looked like the manager looked at the three ninja. They gave him surprised and curious looks. Naruto looked hurt, too. "You two can stay, but that one has to leave now!" He pointed to Naruto.  
"But, why?" Hinata asked. "He never did anything to you!" Her hands clenched in fists.

"I don't have to serve who I don't want to! And I refuse to serve him!" The man, in his forties or so, crossed his arms.

"That's not fair!" Hinata yelled, but Sasuke put his arm in front of her.

"You don't serve him, you don't serve any of us. Let's go." He motioned for them to follow him. They walked back out of the restaurant.

"I-I'm sorry, Naruto-kun." Hinata looked at the boy's hurt expression.

"For what? You didn't do anything." His hands were in his pockets.

"Don't apologize for someone else's ignorance, Hinata." Sasuke looked straight forward. "That man had no right to do what he did. He's stupid. Let it go."

"But I can't let it go! He refused service for Naruto-kun! That's not ignorant! That's just mean!" She looked at her feet, embarrassed at the stares her teammates gave her. "A-Anyway, let's find another restaurant." She could feel the stares of confusion lift off her.

"Yeah. Hey, we should go eat at Ichiraku's!"

"No ramen." Sasuke said. "That stuff gives me a stomach ache."

"Oh, so almighty Sasuke gets stomach aches?" Naruto cooed. "That just stinks!" He burst out laughing at his own joke before Sasuke bopped him on his head.

They walked for a few more minutes before they found another restaurant, but it was the same as the last one. The next one was, too. And the next one. And the next one. After about seven restaurants, they were about to give up, but Hinata noticed a restaurant that said 'Grand Opening' in the window. She urged them to go in and see. Thankfully, the manager/chef was from Iwagakure and was looking for a new start here in Konoha. He gladly let them eat there, saying they were his first customers. He sat the three of them down at a tall table. The chairs were tall, too, not allowing anyone under six-and-a-half feet tall to touch the ground with their feet. He handed them menus. They explained their situation of why they chose his restaurant while they scanned the food selections.

"I see..." The man, who said his name was Samura, looked at the three genin. "Well, thank goodness for those inadequete people, who led you to me! I don't know why they'd want to kick Naruto-san out of their restaurants. They don't even know him! And I'm glad that my first customers are real ninja!" He said. He waited for them to find what they wanted before he walked away. Naruto decided on some miso-flavored chicken-and-rice. Sasuke got Kushiyaki with a side of fried rice. Hinata took the longest before she decided on Gyoza. The man walked away to prepare the food. He soon came back with three glasses of ice tea. "On the house!" He said. "And free refills."

"A-Arigato." Hinata was happy this man accepted them. He smiled back at her before returning to the kitchen. The three ninja began talking. They got to know eachother a little better. Even Sasuke opened up a little bit. Soon they were even laughing like old friends. Sasuke and Hinata didn't really laugh, but Sasuke chuckled every now and then and Hinata giggled. Soon, Samura-san came in with their food. It was steaming and it smelled delicious.

"Idatakimasu!" The three ninja said before eating. It was absolutely wonderful.

"It's amazing!" Naruto said with a full mouth.

"It is very good." Sasuke said after swallowing another bite.

"Yes." Hinata was happy. This man was nice and made good food.

"I'm very glad you like it. Now, if you'll excuse me." He said, walking away from the table. The rest of the night at the restaurant was spent talking and joking. Hinata then noticed the time.

"OH!" She said, hopping from her seat. "I-It's nearly 8 o'clock! F-Father will be very angry!" She said, taking out her wallet. But Sasuke stopped her.

"You run home. I'll pay for me and you. Naruto can pay for himself." He said, glaring at the boy evily. She didn't say anything, but bowed and ran off.

"We'll have to do this again sometime." Naruto said, taking out his frog-shaped wallet.

"Yeah." Sasuke put the right amount of money, along with a large tip, on the table and walking out, soon followed by Naruto.

"Thank you for coming!" Samura yelled after them.

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Hinata ran all the way home, cursing herself for not paying attention to the time. _'Father will be furious.'_ She thought as she entered the gate to the Hyuuga ground. She took a deep breath and braced herself as she walked through the door, getting ready to be called a failure and weak. She was almost to her room when her father stopped her. His eyes were cold and mean as he looked at his daughter.

"Where have you been?" He asked, his eyes set deadly on her.

"I-I was j-just eating dinner w-with my teammates." She looked at her feet, clenching her fists in her pockets to try and keep them from shaking.

"All day?" His voice was cold and mean.

"W-Well," She began to tell him the whole story. "Today, Kakashi-sensei h-had us do another test, t-to make sure he could pass us a-as genin." He interupted her small voice.

"Did you pass?" He might have raised an eyebrow a milimeter.

"H-Hai. Anyway, w-we were on our way h-home when Naruto-kun--" He interupted her again.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" His voice was so cold, Hinata thought she'd breath ice. She glanced up at him and his face was full of anger and hate. It was horrible.

"H-Hai. He's m-my teammate. Along with U-Uchiha Sasuke-kun. Hatake Kakashi i-is our sensei." She gulped and took a long breath. "So, N-Naruto-kun mentioned d-dinner, and I-I suggested that we all g-go so we can get t-to know eachother. I-I said I would pay, so I spent a-all day looking for a-a restaurant. Then i-it was t-time to meet my team s-so we could go to the r-restaurant, but t-they kicked us out. A-Along with about s-six other places. W-We finally settled o-on this new restaurant a little w-ways away. M-Me, Naruto-kun, and S-Sasuke-kun ate and talked u-until about eight. I-I would've left sooner, b-but I lost track of time. G-Gomene-sai!" She bowed and looked up at her father. His face was a bit warmer, but that didn't say much.

"So you went out and lost track of time..." He said to himself, not taking his eyes off his daughter. "What are you doing tomarrow?"

"I-I have to go m-meet Kakashi-sensei outside t-the Hokage's office s-so we can be assigned our f-first mission." She looked back down at her feet. He nodded.

"I see. Then I am dismissing you to your room for the rest of the night."

"A-Arigato, Father!" She bowed and ran to her room.

"Yes." Hiashi looked back at his daughter, whom he called a failure. He sighed and looked at the ceiling. _'Oh, Kami-sama...what am I supposed to do with her?'_ He thought as he walked back to his office. Hinata was first in line, the heiress of the Hyuuga clan, but she just wasn't strong enough. Hanabi, her younger sister, was a much better applicant. If only Hanabi had been born first. Or if Hinata hadn't been born at all. He shook the thought. He shouldn't be wishing death upon his child. He got to his desk and sat down, putting his elbows on it and rubbing his temples. _'Hinata...' _He thought. _'If only your mother was still alive. She always understood you.'_

------------------------------------------------

Naruto walked lazily down the street. It was much too early for him. 7 o'clock in the morning was way to hard. He sat on the bench outside the Hokage tower, obviously the first one on his team to be there. He propped his elbows on his knees and rested his head in his hands, glancing up every now and then to see if his teammates were coming. Finally, he saw Hinata walking gracefully up the street. He never noticed it before, but Hinata always walked with a little skip to her step. Today was no different. She looked energetic and fully aware of her surroundings. He offered her a seat next to him on the bench and she gladly took it.

"O-Ohiyo, Naruto-kun." She smiled. He wearily smiled back. "W-What's wrong?"

"I'm just a little tired." He said, rubbing his eyes. Sasuke then walked up, seeminly tired himself.

"O-Ohiyo, Sasuke-kun." Hinata greeted him happily. He nodded in reply. "You didn't get a lot of sleep, did you?" She asked. He shook his head. "Y-You boys need t-to learn to go t-to bed at a decent time!" She giggled.

"You're very open today, Hinata." Naruto looked at his usually shy teammate.

"I'm very e-energetic today. I-I got a lot of s-sleep last night." She smiled. Sasuke then took a seat next to her, leaning back and sighing.

"I wish I did." He sat back up and rubbed his eyes. "I couldn't sleep at all."

"W-Why not?" Hinata asked, setting her elbows on her knees.

"I don't know. When I got home, those girls were there. I had to fight my way through to get to my house. They didn't leave me alone until about nine. Then I tried to go to sleep, but someone was working on something for awhile. It was horrible." He sighed. "Now I'm exhausted."

"H-Heh. O-Oh, and thank you f-for paying last night. T-That was very s-sweet of you." That made him blush slightly.

"I-It was nothing." He said, looking away. They sat there in silence for a long while before Kakashi-sensei finally walked up. They made their way up the stairs to the Hokage's office, saying nothing of the lazy jonin's tardiness. The Hokage looked up from the papers he was working on as the three genin walked in, followed by their sensei.

"Well, Kakashi. You're here for your first mission, I take it?" He asked with a smile on his face. Kakashi nodded. The Sandaime looked at each genin before sighing and rummaging through his files to find an assignment. He finally pulled out a file labeled 'D-rank missions' and flipped through it. Surprisingly, Naruto didn't object when he read the big red letters on the folder. He seemed too tired. "Ah, here we go." The older man took out a piece of paper. "There's an old woman who needs help with her gardening and cleaning her house because she sprained her ankle. Here's the map to her house and here are some details about the work." He handed the pieces of paper to Kakashi. "Good luck!" He told them as they walked out the door. When the large door shut, he sighe to himself. "They really grow up fast, don't they?"

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Kakashi-sensei knocked on the door of a small cottage a little ways away from the Hokage's tower. There was a "Just a minute!" call from, what Hinata guessed was the back of the house. After a few moments, an older woman opened the front door. "Yes?" She asked Kakashi-sensei before she noticed the three genin behind the man. She took note that they all had hitai-ate on. "What can I do for you?"

"We're here on a mission from the Hokage to help you out with your housing duties." Kakashi smiled at the little old lady who hobbled around on krutches.

"Oh, yes!" She said after thinking for a minute. "Come in!" She moved out of the way as the four ninja entered. "You can get started cleaning up the yard and then move into the house." She smiled at the three. Hinata returned her smile, but the other two didn't really notice. "Why don't I make you some tea?" There were four replies, all saying "Hai.". Hinata thought the little old lady was cute, in that old lady way, and decided on calling her 'obaa-chan', hoping the lady didn't mind.

"Naruto, Hinata, why don't you two start in the garden while me and Sasuke repair the shed?" He asked. There were no objections. Hinata and Naruto moved into the garden rather quickly, starting by digging up the weeds before they watered. Sasuke groggily listened to his sensei as he explained what they should do and how to do. Soon, the old lady came back out with four glasses of iced tea.

"Arigato, Obaa-chan." Hinata bowed as she took her glass. The old lady smiled warmly and accepted the other forms of gratitude with entusiasm. She seemed to like being called 'obaa-chan'. Hinata took a few drinks of her drink before setting it on the table on the patio and going back to work. Naruto had already started again, pulling the weeds rather quickly.

"Man, screw this, I'm tired!" Naruto sat up and wiped some sweat off his forehead. "Kage Bushin No Justu!" He said, making the familiar sign and making about ten more Naruto's appear. Hinata decided to move to the back of the line so she could get the weeds the others missed. Naruto made five other Bushin's go and help Kakashi and Sasuke. They gladly accepted the help. The old lady(who from now on I'm going to call Obaa-chan.) was surprised at the extra help, but just laughed after a minute.

"Naruto-kun, that's a plant." She said, stopping one of the Bushin's from digging up a plant.

"Oh! Hehehe, sorry." He said, grinning and scratching the back of his head. Hinata then decided to help the clones if they were about to do something stupid, too. After awhile, the four were done and moved inside. Naruto made his clones dissapear because there was no room in the small house. Hinata worked in the kitchen, making dinner for the small woman. Naruto worked in the living room. Kakashi decided to clean the extra room. Sasuke was about to open another door, but the Obaa-chan stopped him.

"That would be my room, and I don't like it when other people go into my room!" Obaa-chan said in a sweet voice. "Why don't you help that girl in the kitchen?" Sasuke nodded and walked into the kitchen, where Hinata was cutting up vegetables. He started doing dishes, experienced having done them so often himself. He had just gotten done washing a pan when Hinata snuck up behind him and snatched it.

"Hey!" He said, turning around. She giggled.

"G-Gomene. I-I need it though." She took it back to the counter where all her vegetables and some cut up meat was. "I'm making soup." She scooped the fragments of food into the pan. "C-Can I use the s-sink for a moment?" She asked. He nodded, moving out of the way. She filled the pan with water, making all the contents within it bob around. Then, she put it on the stove. She turned it on, waiting for it to boil.

"A watched pot never boils." Sasuke recited the metaphore monotonously.

"How w-would you know?" She asked him, smiling.

"Because I cook...sometimes." He said after a pause. She smiled at him and turned away from the pot, going over to the sink instead to dry and put away the dishes Sasuke had cleaned. "Hey, Hinata?" He asked, gulping. She looked up at him. "Why do you studder all the time?" He asked the simple question innocently.

"O-Oh...just habit, I-I guess." She said. "I-It's not like I-I do it on p-purpose." She said, smiling. "I-I wish I could s-stop it." She dried and put away another dish he handed her.

"Then why don't you try? I mean, you don't studder if you don't think about your words. Why don't you just not think?"

"T-That's true, but it's n-not that easy. I've b-been studdering since my...ah...s-since I was very l-little."

"Oh." They finished up the dishes just when Hinata's pot started boiling. She put a few builion cubes in it for flavor and turned the heat down. Sasuke filled up a bucket with water and some sort of soap and began to mop the floors with a mop he found in the closet. He didn't mop around Hinata until she had the chance to sit down. She sighed as he washed where she was standing just seconds before. She decided to do something useful, so she washed the table. Naruto passed the kitchen holding a big basket of clothes. He walked steadily down the stairs. Then, Hinata and Sasuke heard a loud 'THUMP' followed by several others. They looked at eachother before running to the top of the stairs. Naruto had fallen halfway down, sending clothes flying everywhere. He was rubbing a sore spot on his head.

"Dobe." Sasuke sighed to himself as Hinata rushed down the stairs to help him. She cleaned up the clothes and told him to leave the laundry to her. He nodded and made his way up the stairs. Obaa-chan asked him over and over again if he was okay, and he kept assuring her that he was, but she refused to give up. Hinata finished putting the clothes in the washer and turned it on, walking back up the stairs.

"Be m-more careful, Naruto-kun!" She smiled at him. He smiled back. They finished up their mission, Obaa-chan treating them to lunch, and made their way back to the Hokage tower. He congratulated them and handed them their pay for the day. He gave them the rest of the day off and they walked out, leaving him back to his work.

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YAY!!!! The end of chapter two! Sorry for the abrupt ending, but I didn't feel like typing anymore. I wish my fingers didn't ache! Anyway, I know the characters were way OOC, but oh well. And I was thinking! Maybe I should make this a love triangle between Sasuke, Hinata, and Naruto! Would that make you all happy? Thank you for the reviews, too! I'm glad you all like my story.

Wow...Hinata really makes the characters open up, doesn't she? Maybe it's the vibes she gives off... I don't know! Anyway, I'm going to change it up a little bit in the next chapter! Clothes wise, anyway! That's right! Before I get into the Wave Country, team 7 is going shopping! Well... Hey! Wait a minute! Why am I telling you this! I doesn't matter! None of you know the end! Hahaha!

FYI:

The third chapter might not come for awhile. I'm still working on details, but I have another story to attend to! Oh, and if any of you are interested in I Promised I'd Come Back, you'd better get uninterested in it, 'cause I'm deleting it. It's okay, but I just don't know where to go from where it is!

Anyway, vote on whether or not I should make this a love triangle, or if Sakura should come into it and turn Sasuke's head. Thanks again! And Sorry again!

_DarkAnimeAngel13_

P.S. I know this is a really long chapter, but I was bored!


	3. Chapter 3

Hinata wiped the sweat away from her forehead before charging at the tree again. She was a training area near the village and was 'sparring' with the large tree before her. She had been out there all morning and afternoon, taking breaks just to eat. Kakashi-sensei had given them the day off, and she was using the unexpected holiday to her advantage. Her short indigo hair fell into her face as she hopped backwards, avoiding a fake attack. She had been with her team for almost two months now, and this was the first break they got from their D-rank missions. This morning, her jacket was on, but she had taken it off because it was surprisingly hot today, revealing a black t-shirt underneath. Normal genin clothes. Nothing like the orange jumpsuit Naruto was always wearing. She smiled to herself as she thought about the blonde-haired klutz. "Oi, Hinata!" Came his voice out of nowhere before he jumped into the clearing. It sent Hinata jumping about ten feet.

"N-Naruto-kun!" She sighed when she realized who it was. "W-what are you d-doing here?" She said, sitting down next to her 'opponent', the tree.

"Nothing. I was bored so I decided to come to the training grounds and see if anyone I knew was here. And here you are!" He said, sitting next to her. "Why do you think Kakashi-sensei gave us a day off?"

"I-I don't really k-know. H-He said he had s-something important t-to do." She said, leaning against the tree and looking at the sky.

"Or he just was being lazy and didn't feel like training today." He said, not a hint of sarcasim in his voice. She giggled. "Man, these stupid D-rank missions are getting on my nerves! I want to do something more exciting! I want to protect people!" He kicked the nothingness that was in front of him. "Plus today is just dragging on." He glanced at her, then noticed something. "Y'know Hinata, I've never seen you without your jacket on." He said, chuckling.

"H-Heh." She said, embarassed. "I-It was getting h-hot."

"It is kind of hot out today, isn't it?" He said, shading his eyes as he looked up at the sun. "It's almost never this hot in Konoha. But, oh well. We have our good days and our bad days."

"Hai." She said, looking at her feet. Then, she got an idea that made her blush. It wasn't that she was alone with Naruto. She was kind of used to that now. "N-Naruto-kun...you know...w-we could go get you n-new clothes. I-I mean, if those o-ones are too hot..." She let her voice trail off so he could think about it. He looked once again at the searing hot sun and seemed to really notice the heat after that.

"Yeah!" He finally said. "And I can treat you to dinner at Samura-san's place, too!" He said, jumping to his feet. He grabbed her hand, hoisting her up. Her eyes went wide as he started running, dragging her along. They burst through the gates and he took off at full speed. But someone grabbed the collar of his jacket, choking him for an instant as he flew backwards. Hinata jumped out of the way just in time. "Owww..." He said, coughing and sitting up. He looked up at the person who grabbed him. "You! Sasuke-temme!" Naruto jumped to his feet. "Why'd you do that?! You could've hurt Hinata!" He put his fist up. Hinata realized that the 'case' between Sasuke and Naruto hadn't lightened up one bit since they were put on this team.

"You were going too fast for Hinata to keep up!" Sasuke looked back at him. He wanted to burst out laughing, but he held it in. "Where are you going, anyway?"

"N-Naruto-kun and I are g-going shopping for a new o-outfit for him." Hinata poked her index fingers together unconsiously. She then realized what she was doing and brought her hands down to her sides. "W-Would you like to c-come, Sasuke-kun?" She glanced from Naruto to Sasuke and back, realizing that she might have made a mistake asking him to come with them. She tried to lighten the mood, remembering thier day way back when when the three were at Samura's. "W-We're going to Samura-san's a-afterwards, too."

"Sure, I'll come." He said simply. Naruto scowled at him, but Hinata smiled. She was glad she could do things together with her team. "I need new clothes, anyway." They started walking again. Finally, Hinata saw a tailor and walked in. But...that place was like the restaurants. She decided to save them time and see if there were any new tailors opening up. There weren't. They took their chances at another place. But that place was the same. And the next place. And the next place. Hinata's hope was completely drained. She was so lost in thought that, as soon as they turned a corner, she ran into someone.

"A-Ah! G-Gomene-sai! I wasn't w-watching where I-I was going!" She bowed before she even looked up at the person.

"Where are you guy's going?" A calm voice came from above her. She recognized it. She looked up and was staring straight into the eye of Kakashi-sensei. "It _is_ your day off. I was thinking you'd all spend it away from eachother."

"I ran into Hinata at the training grounds and we were going to go shopping when _he_ popped up." Naruto thrusted a thumb toward Sasuke.

"There are a bunch of tailors and shops around here. Why didn't you go into one of them?" Kakashi-sensei put his hands in his pockets.

"No one would let us in." Naruto shrugged.

"Ah." Kakashi said to himself. "Alright. I'll get you all service." He said, walking away and motioning for them to follow him. The three genin looked at eachother before following him. Hinata looked at the sun, reckoning that it was about 2:30 or 3:00 pm. Still plenty of time before dinner. Kakashi-sensei led them into a small tailor that looked a little disorganized, but other than that, it was fine.

"Kakashi!" A rather average-built man greeted them. "Who are your friends?" He looked at Sasuke and Hinata, and then he looked at Naruto and looked a little more self-aware, but didn't say anything.

"These are my genin students. They were looking for a place to get clothes. Can they come in here?" The three ninja studied the place, taking everything in. It was modest, above all. There were different patterns and designs everywhere. Different types of cloths hung on the wall. It was nice. All the different colors of threads.

"Of course! Any friend of Kakashi's is a friend of mine!" The man seemed okay. Hinata bowed, thanking him. Kakashi waved as he walked out the door. "So what exactly were you looking for?" The man looked at the three teammates, grinning.

"A-Ano...something n-new for Naruto-kun. A-A little different." Hinata was nervous. She looked at her blue-eyed teammate.

"That seems irrelevant. You can't be a ninja if you're wearing bright orange!" The man laughed a little at his own joke.

"S-Sasuke-kun needs s-something, too." She said, coming a bit more out of her shell. The man studied the raven-haired boy. His onyx eyes were piercing.

"Alright. Let's see what we can do!" He said. Hinata zipped up her jacket a bit more, blushing slightly. "What kind of cloth do you need?" He started out. Hinata looked at Naruto for a long moment before looking at all the different cloths. Some were light and some were heavy. She finally picked out a heavier cloth for him, but not the heaviest. She left it up to Naruto to pick out a color. He chose a dark green. The man measured him and wrote down his sizes on a piece of paper. he then got to work. It didn't take as long as Hinata expected. The outfit fit perfectly on Naruto, too. When he came out, Hinata barely recognized him. She studied it before asking if she could change it up a bit. He nodded and she told him that, instead of short-sleeves, he should have a jacket with a black t-shirt underneath. The man took her advice and considered them, taking his shirt. He handed Naruto a black t-shirt and got to work making a jacket. He came back shortly with exactly what Hinata was thinking. Naruto put it on and looked in the mirror.

"But my hair makes me stick out..." He pouted. Hinata giggled.

"T-That doesn't m-matter, Naruto-kun!" She assured him. "It l-looks fine."

"Really?" He asked.

"Hai."

"Now my next customer!" The man walked Sasuke over to the cloths and Sasuke immediatly pointed out the heaviest one.

"Hinata, what color should I get?" Sauske honestly had no idea. Hinata walked over to where he was standing. She looked at all the possibilites.

"This o-one." She pulled out a black. "With t-this color shirt." She took a dark blue, much darker than his shirt he had on then. He nodded and let the man measure him. "M-Make him a-a...t-shirt with f-fish netting going down to h-his elbow and...pants like m-mine, j-just with narrower cuffs." Hinata told the man. He looked at Hinata's pants before nodding and getting to work, making sure to sew the fish net in.

"Oi, son." The man looked at Sasuke. "Do you want your collar like the one you have now?" Sasuke looked at Hinata for assurance. She sighed at told the man that he wanted it a little shorter and not as wide. The man nodded and continued his work. It took a little longer for Sasuke's, but he was done and he handed the things to Sasuke so he could try them on. He came out and it looked perfect. It matched his personality all the way. Hinata said she liked it and the man gave him a thumbs up. Sasuke smirked and sat down in a waiting area chair.

"How about you, Hinata?" Naruto asked. "Are you getting new clothes, too?" Hinata thought about it for a second.

"C'mon, girl! You can't let your friends get new clothes and not you!" The man urged her. She thought about it before she gave in. She picked out lighter cloth.

"I-I want..." She thought about it. "A-A dark red t-shirt and a-a..." She looked at all the color choices. "...black jacket, b-but could you m-make it with a g-gray stripe down b-both arms?" The man nodded. "W-with this color pants, but like Sasuke-kun's." She pointed to a dark gray. The man nodded and smiled as he walked away to prepare the things she asked for. "Oh! A-And would you put f-fishnet all the way down e-either arm on m-my short-sleeved t-shirt?" She looked at him. He nodded again, focusing on what he was making. She sighed and sat down.

"You're really good at designing, Hinata!" Naruto laughed. "You basically made me and Sasuke-temme's clothes!"

"Y-Yeah..." She smiled and blushed. The rest of the wait was spent in silence. Finally, the man came out with Hinata's clothes. He thanked him and went into the back room to try them on. They fit perfectly. She smiled and blushed a deep crimson when they three boys gave her compliments galore. She glanced at the clock. 5:15 pm. Still time for dinner with her friends. She, along with Naruto and Sasuke, thanked the man and paid him, giving generous tips. They made their way down the street, wearing their new outfits. So many girls followed them at Sasuke's new look it was crazy. They finally got to Samura's and went in.

"Naruto-san! Hinata-san! Sasuke-san! Welcome!!" He shouted. It was kind of busy in there. Many people didn't recognize Naruto for a minute, but they realized who he was and glared at him. It made the three rather uncomfortable. "Here! Best seats in the house! I was wondering when you three would come around here again. I like the new outfits, too! When did you get them?" He asked, handing them menus.

"About 10 minutes ago!" Naruto bragged. "Custom made!"

"Great! Hey, I'll get you three some iced tea. On the house! And free refills, like before." They thanked him. Hinata decided a bit quicker on what she wanted, Naruto already knew, and Sasuke made his decision shortly before Hinata. "I'm glad you could all come back! You guy's really got my hopes up back then." Samura said, setting down the tea. "Do you know what you want?"

"Hai!" Naruto said first. "I'll have Okonomiyaki!" He said with a grin, proud of himself for straying from ramen for once.

"Okay. Hinata-san?" Samura wrote down Naruto's order and looked towards the timid girl.

"I-I'll have Tonkatsu." She said, folding her menu. He wrote it down and turned to Sasuke.

"I want the Korokke." He said. Samura nodded and took their menus, saying that he'd be back shortly. It was akward being in there with all the other people, but they didn't have to really worry about that for long. After the three genin ordered, most of the people got up and left, taking the rest of their food home in boxes. Some, who were almost done with their meal, stayed to finish up. As the people walked out, Hinata couldn't help but notice that Naruto had a hurt look on his face.

"Naruto-kun?" She was worried. "W-what's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing..." He said as he watched another table leave. They all gave him dirty looks as they exited. Hinata didn't know why, but she felt sorry for Naruto. She was just wondering why they were so mean to him. He never did anything. The three talked quietly until Samura came in with their food.

"Here you go!" He said, placing the large plates of food in front of the three genin. Hinata watched Naruto, nibbling at her food, as he ate big mouthfuls. He really was hungry. Sasuke ate at a normal pace, at least. She slowly chewed her food and studied Naruto until he glanced at her and grinned. She felt the blush creep up her face as she turned away, leaving Naruto staring at her, confused. The food was exquisite. When they were finished, they talked about past missions. Naruto complaied about the 'easy' missions the Hokage gave them. Hinata and Sasuke both laughed as Naruto leaned back in his chair and fell off it, nearly knocking the table down with him. Soon, Hinata looked at the clock. It was 7:00. She knew she wouldn't get into too much trouble because she told her father she might be out all day training. Even though her new clothes might give her away. But, she just told herself she would tell the truth. Her father could probably see through her lies anyway.

"I-I must go." She said, getting up. She took her wallet out and took out enough for the three of them. Naruto didn't seem to object to her paying for him, but Sasuke told her not to worry about it and took out his own wallet. "N-No, Sasuke-kun. You p-paid for me last t-time. I-I'll pay for you th-this time." She put the money on the table, with a tip, and walked away. Sasuke didn't say anything this time. They both followed her out the door and bid their farewells before taking off in different directions. Hinata glanced at the two boys as they walked away. Sasuke's 'paparazzi' was following him from a distance, and Naruto ran. She sighed as she made her way down the street.

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People commented her new outfit at the Hyuuga grounds. Her father said that she shouldn't buy unnessesary items, but, if you looked deep into his cold eyes, you could see that he was somewhat proud. Hinata smiled to herself as she walked into her room. She hung up her jacket and took off her shirt, the fishnet she wasn't used to was scratching her arms, but she liked it anyway. She grabbed another shirt out of her closet and put it on. She laid on her bed and thought about her night with her teammates. Naruto looked a lot more like a ninja, now. Sasuke...well...was Sasuke. She liked his new clothes(and so did the rest of the Konoha girls), and she could tell that he did, too. She slowly drifted into sleep thinking about what tomarrow's mission would be.

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Naruto sighed with relief as he tossed his old clothes into the trash can. His new clothes were much more appropriate for being a ninja. He put on a large t-shirt and a pair of boxers for sleeping, even though it was only about 8:00. He had to be up early tomarrow, anyway, for their next mission. He didn't like going on D-rank missions, but he knew that all genin started out like this. He glanced at his new outfit, hanging on the back of his bedroom door and smiled. Then, the shy and timid Hinata wandered into his mind. He slipped into dreamland wondering what she was doing right then.

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Sasuke shut out the girls that were chasing after him and locked his door, taking a deep breath. He walked into his bedroom, closing the curtains on his sliding door. He took off his shirt and put on a bigger one. He laid down in bed and glanced at the clock. 8:15. Those stupid girls needed to get a life. He thought about the events of the day. That slowly changed to the past month-and-a-half with his team. It was strange, being on a team that he actually enjoyed...most of the time. The Dobe made it hard, sometimes. He sighed as he thought about Hinata and Naruto. They were okay, even though his rivalry with Naruto got in the way sometimes. Other than that, it was kind of fun. He sighed again as sleep got the best of him.

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Naruto quickly moved behind a tree a few feet in front of him. Hinata ducked behind a bush and Sasuke was in a tree. "Where's the target?" A voice came from a microphone in all three genin's ears.

"Three meters and closing." Sasuke answered, peering at the thing they were chasing from his perch. "How much longer are we going to wait?"

"I'm in position." Naruto's voice came from the headset.

"M-Me too." Hinata's timid voice was soft and almost hard to hear.

"Then move in." The voice said. Naruto nodded to his teammates and pounced. He grabbed a small orange cat and held on tight. The cat hissed and started clawing at Naruto. "Is it the correct target? It should have a bow on it's left ear that says 'Tiger'."

"Mission complete." Sasuke said into the microphone. Hinata giggled as the cat cut Naruto's face with it's claws.

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"OH, MY SWEET LITTLE ANGEL!!!!" A woman, fairly large, rubbed the cat against her face. Hinata felt sorry for the poor thing. "How can I ever repay you?" Lady Shijimi asked Kakashi-sensei in an almost hysterical voice. He just shook his head.

"Well..." The Hokage skimmed through some papers. "There's a man across the village who needs someone to do the shopping for him..." He looked at the three genin, then at their sensei.

"This isn't fair!" Naruto yelled, crossing his arms. "I want to do something exciting! Let us do something different for once!"

_'Be glad you can get what you get!'_ Kakashi thought as he shook his head at his student.

_'He has a point...'_ Sasuke stuck his hands in his pockets of his black pants and sighed. Hinata looked at the Hokage, making sure Naruto didn't get into trouble. The Hokage looked at Naruto for a long moment before sighing and looking through some more papers.

"Fine. I should've suspected this was coming up. I'll assign you a C-rank mission, then. It's out of the village, though. Can you all deal with that?" He looked at the three nodding ninja, and Kakashi, who was rolling his eyes and sighing. But he eventually nodded slowly. "Good. Your mission is tomarrow. Meet me in my office for all the details." He said. Naruto's eyes lit up.

"YATTA!!" He pumped his fist in the air.

_'Dobe.' _Sasuke thought. But he was secretly glad that they were going on an exciting mission, too. He glanced at his other teammate. It was evident that she was happy, too. Sasuke may be kind of passive towards feelings of love and cherishment, but he knew that Hinata had both for Naruto. He was surprised that the Dobe hadn't noticed...yet.

"You have the rest of the day off. And be prepared for tomarrow's mission!" The Sandaime Hokage said before walking out of the room.

"YES!!!!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air once more, this time jumping up. "This calls for a celebration!" He looked at his teammates. Sasuke sighed and reluctantly nodded, and Hinata blushed.

"I'm out." Kakashi-sensei said. Then, with a wave of his hand, he dissapeared in a poof of smoke. Naruto shrugged.

"Let's go to Ichiraku's this time!" He told them. Sasuke sighed again, but began to follow him. Hinata did so, too. Hinata let her mind wander to her and Naruto's 'date' again, and it made her blush. Naruto, she knew, really liked ramen. "Hey! I got an idea!" Naruto looked at his teammates. "We could get Ichiraku's, then go to my house!" He didn't know the real reason he wanted to take his teammates to his house. Probably because he had never had a friend in there.

"Why?" Sasuke gave him a strange look.

"Why not?" He shrugged. Hinata blushed at the thought of being in Naruto's house.

"Shouldn't we do something more useful for the mission?" Sasuke gave his teammates a look of confusion and annoyance. "I need new weapons. Mine are all dull and useless." He looked at the kunai and shuriken pouches strapped to his right thigh."

"M-Me, too." Hinata glanced at her feet. "A-And I was thinking o-of getting leg a-and arm weights." She held her arm in front of her face and sighed.

"Why?" Naruto looked at her arm too.

"To gain speed and endurance." Sasuke answered for her. "I probably should get some, too."

"Then I will, too!" Naruto said with a grin. "Then let's head over to the weapon shop! Teuchi-jii-san's can wait!" He wanted to run, but Sasuke held him back. They walked for a little ways before they found a nice weapon shop that another group was heading into. They walked in, and the man behind the counter gave them a warm welcome.

_'Good,' _Hinata thought. _'They aren't kicking us out.'_ She sighed and looked around the store. She thought about a lot of stuff. Mostly about the mission tomarrow. Her thoughts were interupted by a loud, high-pitched scream. But it wasn't painful. It was excited. It scared Hinata, making her jump.

"SASUKE-KUN!!!!" Was what the voice said. Hinata peered over the shelf she was looking at to see a pink-haired girl running towards her teammate. Hinata sighed as she put the kunai she was looking at down and walked to where her teammate was trying to get the kunoichi off him. "Sasuke-kun! It's been so long since I last saw you!!" Sakura tried to cuddle up to him, but he kept pushing her away. Hinata glanced at another part of the store, where Kiba and Shino were standing. Kiba was looking at Sakura, his eyebrow twitching, and Shino was turned to opposite way, pretending he didn't know the crazy girl.

"Lay off!!" Sasuke yelled at her, still trying to push her off him. "Get off me!!" He glanced at a giggling Hinata and he heard Naruto cracking up behind him. It made him blush. He was sick of obsessed fangirls that followed him around. He tried again to pry her away, but to no avail. "Help me!!" He reached a hand at Hinata, but she turned away, laughing. "Hey! Hey, you!" He looked at Shino and Kiba. "She's your teammate! Get her off me!" Kiba looked at Shino and Shino nodded. They walked over and Kiba wrapped his arms around Sakura's stomach. Shino went behind Sasuke and pried her hands off his back. Kiba then threw himself back, sending them flying. He still clutched her as he got up. Him and Shino dragged her out of the store. While in the doorway, the usually silent Shino turned to Sasuke.

"We are very sorry for Sakura's behavior. Please forgive us." Then, with a bow, he walked away. Sasuke turned to his teammates. Hinata was biting her lip, holding back a chuckle. Naruto's face was red and he was bent over, not able to stop laughing.

"Oh, you thought that was funny?" Sasuke asked, advancing toward Naruto.

"N-No, Sasuke-temme!!" Naruto straightened himself out and wiped a tear away from his eye. "It wasn't f-funny!" Sasuke stopped and looked at Hinata again. She was turned away, trying to control her giggling. "It was hilarious!!" Naruto burst out laughing again. It made Hinata laugh again, too. Sasuke started at Naruto again, but Hinata ran in between them.

"I-It was quite f-funny, Sasuke-kun! A-Admit it!" She said, holding her arms straight out between them. Sasuke stopped and thought about it.

"I don't find it very funny." The man behind the counter looked at them. "They screwed up some of my shelves!" He said, pointing at a messed up shelf. Weapons that were once on it were sprawled everywhere. "If they ever come back, they'll have to clean up my store!" He looked at the door where Team 8 had dissapeared through.

"D-Do you mind i-if we still shop h-here?" Hinata looked at the man.

"Sure!" He shrugged. "You didn't really do anything. That girl just pouned on your teammate." He chuckled. "That part was actually pretty funny." He smiled at the three. "And you." He said, looking at Sasuke right before they began to walk away to look around. "You get any two items in here for free!" He grinned. Sasuke turned away and began to look for what he wanted. Hinata actually found arm and leg weights that would fit her slender figure. Naruto found some, but they were way too heavy and Hinata had to make him put them back to get lighter ones. Sasuke found some, too. They all got new kunai and shuriken. They paid, and Hinata bowed, thanking him for earlier, when she noticed a beautiful katana on the wall.

"E-Excuse, me, sir." Hinata turned back to the cashier, making her teammates turn with her. "H-How much i-is that?" She said, pointing toward the long sword.

"Oh, that! Just came in!" He said, walking out from behind the counter and taking it down. He set it on a table nearby. Hinata followed his hands as he unsheathed it. "It's perfect if you're an expert or if you're just starting out." The blade was shiney and silver. The handle was engraved with a dragon and was a dark purple. The dragon on it, though, was a golden. "I don't know much about weilding a sword. Just how to hold and swing it."

"I-I don't know anything a-about them." She looked at the long blade.

"And you want it?" He asked, chuckling. "I could teach you what I know behind the shop! No extra cost!" He smiled.

"In a day?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"I told you I don't know much!" He said. "You want it?" He looked at Hinata.

"P-Please!" Her eyes lit up.

"I'll give it to you half price, then!"

"O-Oh, no! Y-You're already teaching me h-how to use it! I-I couldn't--" But he cut her off.

"It's okay. I run this store! It doesn't matter much to me!" He smiled. "Come, now! I'll teach you how to use it before you pay." He said, leading the three to the back of the store. There was a large and open area in the back. "Now, you have to be really careful handling a katana." He recited from his mind. Sasuke and Naruto propped themselves on tow logs as the man and Hinata stood in the middle of the field. He showed her how to hold it and how to swing, and he had her do a few practice runs.

"She learns fast." Naruto whispered to Sasuke.

"Yes." He was also fascinated on how quickly Hinata took to the katana. Those were pretty much the only words the two said to eachother the whole 2-and-a-half hours they were out there. When she was done and completely exhausted, she bowed to the man and paid him for the sword. It still looked new. He also gave her a belt she could put the katana on and strap across her back. She bowed once more before walking out of the store.

"Hinata!" Naruto jumped up while looking at her. "You learn really fast!"

"A-Arigato." She smiled and blushed. Sasuke nodded in agreement. The katana, strapped neatly across her small back, gleamed in the sunlight, even though the sun was slowly fading behind the hills. "I-I should get home." She bowed to her teammates. "D-Don't forget to w-wear you're weights!" She shouted to the two, waving and walking off. Sasuke then remembered his purchases and took his weights out, putting them on his legs and arms. Naruto did the same.

"These feel..." Naruto looked at his arms and legs.

"Weird." Sasuke finished for him. He pulled his pant legs down over his weights, concealing half of them. _'I'll have to put something over them.'_ He looked at his arms. The weights went three-or-four inches below his elbows. Naruto didn't have to worry about his arms, and he didn't care about his legs, so he had nothing to worry about. Sasuke's sleeves were different, though. The fish net went to just above his elbow, making the weights visible. He shrugged it off, knowing he could get something new to put on his arms.

"I'll see you later, Sasuke-temme!" Naruto said, running towards his home. Sasuke sighed as he walked down the street.

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Hinata ran all the way home, thinking about everything she should pack to tomarrow's mission. She shuddered as she thought about how she would tell father. She shook the thought as she walked onto the Hyuuga grounds, passing the garden and the small pond they had out there. The gaurds bowed as she walked through the door. Out of habit, she bowed back. Her father was only a few feet away from the door.

"I-I'm home, Father." She bowed. His cold eyes looked at his daughter before he noticed the long katana strapped to her back.

"What's that?" He asked, not taking his eyes off the weapon.

"Oh! I-I decided that I w-wanted to take up s-sword fighting!" She smiled a little. He gave her a confused look for a moment.  
"Why?" He looked weary of the long weapon.

"I-I just l-like how it l-looks. Plus, I l-leared how to u-use it! And i-it might h-help on tomarrow's m-mission!" She smiled again, happy she got it out. He raised an eyebrow. She took the hint. "M-My team has a C-C-rank mission. W-We'll be gone f-for maybe three w-weeks." She said, looking at her feet. He nodded.

"Okay. I suppose you need to pack?" He asked his 'failure' of a daughter. She nodded. "Then I dismiss you to your room." She bowed and walked around him. She sighed as she opened the door to her room. Closing it, she thought of her mission. She took a backpack out of her closet and started packing. She put her weights on, deciding not to take them off until she had to. She packed her new weapons and a few essentials. When she was done, she laid her katana next to her backpack and collapsed on her bed.

"Oh!" She said outloud as she thought about the day. _'We didn't go out for ramen...'_

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Naruto was up bright and early tomarrow, surprisingly. He was a snail moving through his home, though. He took a shower and brushed his teeth. He ate breakfast and put on his outfit. Normal morning routine, right? But, as he reached for his backpack, he suddenly got a burst of energy. He grinned as he walked out the front door, locking it. He happily walked down the street toward the Hokage tower. The sun was out and warm on his whiskered face, bathing him in warmth and happiness. He turned the corner and took a glance at the bench next to the large building. He wasn't the first one there.

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Hinat glanced up from her sword and saw Naruto walking toward her. She smiled warmly and scooted over, offering him a seat. He took it. They didn't say a word. They both thought that neither wanted to disrupt the beatiful stillness of the morning. Hinata had been up early, too. Earlier than Naruto. She ate alone at the large table in the dining area of the Hyuuga estate. She always got ready before she ate, doing everything before her morning meal. She wanted to be early to the Hokage Tower so she could have time to think. She didn't know that Naruto-kun would be early, too. That morning she also had time to practice weilding her sword in the dojo before she left. Only one or two people walked past her that morning, surprised that she was carrying the long katana. She smiled as she looked at the beautiful blade again, taking in every detail about it.

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Sasuke had gotten a lot of sleep last night. No interuptions at all. He went out really early that morning, going to the tailor shop he had bought his clothes at, needing something new. He was relieved it was open so early. The man looked at him groggily before realizing who it was.

"Sasuke!" The man walked out from behind his counter. "What is it? Did something happen to your clothes?" He looked Sasuke up and down, looking for any flaws. It was weird being in there without Naruto and Hinata, but he shook the thought of them.

"No. I need something new made." He said to the curious man.

"What do you need, then?"

"I need something to cover these." He said, holding up his arm weights that were strapped to his arms. "I used to wear these," He told him, taking out his old arm covers and showing him them. "but they don't match my clothes anymore."

"I could make you something similar with different colors." He told him, taking the arm covers and studying them.

"Really?" Sasuke asked. He was being emotionless so far. "The cloth should match my shirt, but the belts should be the same color has my pants." He told him. The man nodded and went into his working area, making the items for his customer. Sasuke waited about fifteen minutes before the man came out with the finished products. Sasuke took them and put them on his arms, covering the weights.

"Are they okay?" The man was really tired, Sasuke could tell. Sasuke nodded and paid the man, walking away with his purchases. "Thank you! Tell your friends I said hi!" The man shouted out of his store after Sasuke. Sasuke waved, telling the man he got the message.

Sasuke made his way to the Hokage's tower. His arm covers were a little strange, but okay none the least. They were different than his old ones, but similar. He kind of liked them the more he looked at them. They covered his weights, too.

Naruto and Hinata were sitting on the bench when he got there. Hinata was still carefully studying her katana and Naruto was staring off into space. He walked up and sat in the place next to Hinata, startling both Hinata and Naruto.

"O-Ohiyo, Sasuke-kun." Hinata smiled warmly at him. Sasuke nodded. "When d-did you get t-those?" She asked looking at his arm covers.   
"Just now." He answered simply. "To cover my weights." They, of course, went perfectly with his outfit. Hinata smiled again and went back to taking in every detail of her beautiful katna. "Can you use that okay now?" He asked her, looking at it with her. She nodded and got up. She unsheathed it and set it's sheath on the bench. She took a few steps away and showed them what she learned from her home practice. Sasuke and Naruto were both amazed that she learned to block and swing perfectly on her own.

"Wow, Hinata!" Naruto was the excited one. "You learned that on your own? That was amazing!!" She blushed and smiled.

"A-Arigato..." She said, sitting down and putting her katana away. She strapped it to her back as Naruto praised her work over and over. Then it died down and they waited for their sensei to show up. He was about half and hour late.

----------------------------------------------------

"Kakashi, I do hope your team is ready for this mission." The Sandaime Hokage looked at the three young genin. He could tell that all of them, even Sasuke, were eager to get going. They all had backpacks and the Hokage noticed right away that the young Hyuuga heiress had a long katana strapped to her back. Kakashi noticed it, too. He questioned her about it when he got there. "This C-rank mission somewhat puts your lives on the line. I'm not too sure whether or not your team is up to it." The older man looked worridly down at the three.

"Don't worry!" Naruto said, straightening his headband. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Future Hokage of Konohagakure! I can handle anything!" The Hokage wasn't surprised at Naruto's sudden outburst of courage. He nodded, believing him.

"Well then, I'll tell you the details of your mission. Send him in." The Hokage called behind his shoulder. A man came out. His hair was white and stuck out. He was holding a bottle of sake and looked a little tipsy. "This is Tazuna." The Hokage motioned at the older man.

"This is it?" He asked, kind of slurring his words. "A girl, a pretty-boy, and a shrimp?" Tazuna looked briefly at the Hokage. "They're takin' me back?" The Hokage nodded. "The blonde has the face of an imbecile."

"RRR!!!" Naruto shouted at Tazuna. "I'll kill him!!" He was about to dodge at the older man, but Kakashi sensei grabbed his collar.

"Wrong. No killing the man you were assigned to protect." He said cooly.

"Team 7," The Hokage addressed all of them. "you are to take Tazuna-san back to his home in Namigakure, protecting him from bandits. You are to stay with him until his bridge is completed, making sure it gets to the shoreline of the main land." The Hokage took a deep breath. "You will stay in Tazuna-san's house. That is all I can think of except Good Luck." He smiled.

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"I can't believe a bunch of kids are taking me back." Tazuna complained. He had been the entire walk to the gate.

"Just shut it already!" Naruto was getting annoyed of his ranting, along with the rest of the team. Tazuna kept his mouth shut for a little bit. When they finally reached the gate, Naruto pumped his fist in the air and jumped. "Yatta!! Be prepared, Namigakure, because Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage, is coming to protect you!!!" Naruto grinned as he turned around, facing his team. He smiled at them, a warm smile. Hinata lightly blushed, but returned the favor. Sasuke smirked, and Kakashi kept his normal face on. Tazuna somewhat smiled, too. Then they walked, getting prepared for their very first exciting mission.

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I know, I know. The ending is really cheesey, right? Well, I couldn't think of anything else! It doesn't matter, though. That just leaves it open for the next chapter, where the Zabuza-Haku arc starts. I hope it's okay, but I just can't think of anything to write anymore! Writer's Block!

Anyway, if you haven't already guessed, this will NOT be a NaruHinaSasu. I decided against that idea because I've been trying to incorperate a sort of one-sided SasuSaku, if you can't tell. I haven't decided on what's going to happen with the whole Legendary Three Sanin. I don't know about that because Sakura isn't on Sasuke's team, therefore I can't very well put in the scene where Sasuke leaves! Ah, never mind. I'll think of something. I've still got a long ways to go before then anyway.

So, I hope you liked this chapter! And someone told me not to make Sasuke come out of his shell yet, but it's kinda too late for that. The reason Sasuke has been so friendly lately is because he has no real reason to despise Hinata, and actually finds her quite nice, so he answers her questions and comments. Hinata, even though Sasuke doesn't like her like that, is easily prying open Sasuke's shell with her bare hands. Naruto has had an impact on our beloved raven-haired boy, too, even though he and Sasuke still get into heated arguments all the time. The friendship of our three characters is evolving rapidly. I'm guessing that, if Kishimoto-san had placed Hinata on Team 7, it would anyway because Hinata can relate to both boys in one way or another. I don't feel like going into details, but I know now that our three main characters are alike in a lot of different ways.

Oh, and, eheh, the whole katana thing. I don't know why, but I've just always liked it when I pictured Hinata with some sort of sword. C'mon, people...you know you have too. If you haven't, then you should. It's cool.

Thank you for reading. It would be appreciated if people would review, too!

_DarkAnimeAngel13_


	4. Personal Author Update! Plz READ!

Now I know that I haven't updated since...um... - looks at last update date - HOLY HELL it's been THAT long?!

Ahem Well, I know I haven't updated in a really, really, _really_ long time, but don't be mad at me, please!! It isn't necessarily MY fault. Okay, we lost our internet connection shortly after I updated in eheh... JUNE of last year... almost a whole year now...

But that isn't the point! We lost our internet connection - but I kept writing every now and then on our computer. Still, when we got the internet back just TWO months ago, I wasn't finished and I, ultimately, forgot about it because I was so excited that I got the internet back.

But THEEEEEENNNN my mother decided to upgrade our Windows '98 for a much, MUCH newer model. Like...and '08. And I was smart about it. I sent all of my writings to my Yahoo account so I could upload them to this comp. And when we got it, I did just that.

But then I went to open one of my chapters, to re-read it so I could fix the flaws, and it WOULDN'T open!

I was like "What the fudgesickles!!"

So I really did plan on updating, but it wont let me! So, as you can see, it is NOT my fault that my computer is so sucky.

Now I'm going to try and get my older brother - the computer whiz of the family - to see if he can't do anything about it. I'm desperately HOPING he can. Otherwise, I'm going to have to go to our old computer downstairs and memoirze the entire chapter so I can copy it here. Which would definitely NOT be good because I'm not real good at memorizing things tugs on collar of shirt and anime sweat-drops.

I know, most of my fans are planning on this to be a chapter, and I'm terribly sorry that it is not, but I'm hoping you can forgive the poor DarkAngel because she is in a load of stuff right now.

Her school year just ended, signifying the end of 8th grade and all of my friendships - since sixteen of us are getting split up into seven different high schools and I will hardly see any of them next year. (I'm absolutely terrified for high school).

SOOOOOOO I really hope you, my darling viewers, can hold off for just a little while longer while I figure out this whole situation.

When I do, I promise to pull as many all-nighters as I can so I can finish the next chapter to _Team 7_. Really, I'm far behind on it as it is. I mean, I got three chapters up in less than two weeks, and then none for a year! I'm positively horrified at my own behavior.

I know, I am a very sorry excuse for an author, but at least I'm making an effort!!

Just look forward to the upcoming chapter! Which, if God loves miss DarkAngel, will be coming ASAP!! :)

And I'm going to explain something in the fourth chapter, okay?

WELL - and if you didn't read the rest of the message, at least read **THIS**

I know that I was going to have Kakashi's seventh cell travel to the Land of Waves in order to protect Tazuna-san from Zabuza and Haku, but there is a slight change in plans, because my mind had a major writer's block during the original writing of chapter four.

I'm sending our favorite heroes on a slightly different mission. I don't remember exactly, but I think it's to Cloud Country. Don't ask me, I'm not sure. And don't blame me if I'm wrong. If I am, I'm terribly sorry. If I'm right, then BOOYAA!!

Anyway, I just though you should all know that, and make a mental note, please. I honestly don't know when the next chapter will be up, but I'll be just as anxious as ALL of you!!

Patience is virtue!!

And again, I'm sorry! T-T teary face x

--DarkAnimeAngel13


	5. Chapter 5

READ THIS! IT'S VERY IMPORTANT!

Okay, I know that, in the last chapter, I had it so Tazuna came, but I'm not going to have that be the C-rank mission team 7 goes on. So, if you can erase Tazuna from your memory, I'll just start this part all over. I know I could take that chapter off fanfiction, but I'm too lazy (Get a load of my personality XD). So, I'm restarting it from where Hinata, Sasuke, and Naruto were waiting outside the Hokage's office. Think back. Hinata had just shown Naruto and Sasuke what she had learned from her self-teaching lesson in her dojo. Naruto praised her, yada yada yada, and then they waited for Kakashi-sensei to come. I'm starting from here:

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"Oi." Kakashi walked up to his three genin students.

"Sensei, why are you always late?!" Naruto questioned his teacher. He was half an hour late, and Naruto had gotten pretty ticked off at him, even though he had enjoyed talking to his teammates. Even Sasuke-no-baka.

"Eh, sorry." Kakashi scratched the back of his head. You could see under his mask that he was smiling stupidly. "I got lost on the way."

"You always say that!!!" Naruto yelled. Kakashi just kept smiling. Sasuke and Hinata had already gotten up and started walking into the Hokage's office. "Huh? Oh, wait for me!" Naruto called after his teammates. Kakashi sighed and followed.

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There were two guards outside the Hokage's office doors. They looked sleepy and exhausted.

"Another long night?" Kakashi asked them. He knew the Hokage was 'fond' of late nights and early mornings. One of the guards nodded. The other was almost asleep.

"Hokage-sama is expecting you, Kakashi-san." The one guard said groggily. He looked as though he wanted to just lie down and fall asleep for the rest of his life.

"Yes." Kakashi, who had gotten a long night of sleep the previous night, nodded. He knocked on the door before opening it.

"Ah, Kakashi. You're here....at last." The Sandaime said, adding the last part with a little, almost unnoticeable, sigh in it. "Welcome, Team 7. I hope you are ready for you mission today." Naruto smiled widely.

"Are we ever! I've been anticipating this all night! I could barely sleep because I was so anxious!" It was true. Naruto tossed and turned the previous night, despite the fact he didn't know it. Hinata was also looking at the Hokage, and there might have been a tiny, almost invisible, piece of confidence in her eyes. The Third Hokage smiled.

"Well then, here are the details of your mission. Kakashi, I want you and your team to go to Kumogakure. When you get there, I would like you to give the guard at the gate this message." The Hokage handed Kakashi a small sheet of paper. "Under no circumstances are you to open the paper. After you get past the guard, you are to go straight to the Raikage's office and give him this scroll. You mustn't open the scroll, either. You will wait for further instruction from the Raikage. That is your mission. Can you handle it?"

"Yes sir!!" Naruto said, standing up straight and saluting. "Uzumaki Naruto and his team is on the case!" The Hokage smiled again.

"Good. Why don't you all get started now. It's a long journey ahead." The team bowed. Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke began to leave, and Kakashi followed. "Kakashi, would you mind if I spoke to you in private for a moment, please?" The rest of the team exited as Kakashi hung back for a moment.

"I know that Naruto is a little bit of a trouble-maker." The Hokage said, barely above a whisper. "So it is very important that neither of the papers given to you are opened. There is vile information within the contents of those papers, and it puts you and your team in danger if you know what is says. So, under no circumstances are you to let those papers be opened."

"It is understood, Hokage-sama." Kakashi said. He bowed and left the office.

"I wish the best of luck on your trip, Team 7."

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"Yatta!!" Naruto said excitedly as he trotted along the road. He pumped his fist in the air. "I did it! I'm going on a trip out of the village for the very first time in my life!" He was so happy, and he had no other way to express it.

"Dobe." Sasuke said. Hinata blushed and smiled.

"Naruto, why don't you save some energy for the walk to Kumo. It's going to take a long time to get to the Cloud Country, and I don't want you to waste all of your energy pointlessly." Kakashi knew his blonde-haired student well-enough to know that it was possible.

"I don't think the Dobe ever runs out of energy." Sasuke stuck his hands in his pockets.

"S-Sasuke-kun has a point. N-Naruto-kun is a very e-energetic person." Hinata said smiling, though she didn't agree on the whole 'dobe' thing.

"Yup! And I'm proud of it, too!" Naruto smiled, too. "Having a lot of energy is a good thing, right, Kakashi-sensei?" Kakashi decided not to say anything.

"But it doesn't mean anything if you waste it all doing pointless acts. Save it for a fight." Sasuke said, staring ahead. He wasn't really focused on the conversation, just kind of tuning in and saying things when he felt it necessary.

"Yeah, whatever." Naruto glared at Sasuke. "Hey, Hinata!" Naruto said, suddenly changing the subject. "When do you suppose you'll use your new sword?"

"I-I don't know. Whenever I have to, I-I guess..." Hinata had almost forgotten about the katana strapped to her back. Naruto smiled widely at her.

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Kakashi suddenly stopped right as the sun hit the top of the hills. "We'll make camp here." He said. He knew his team was tired; they had been walking all morning and afternoon. "We'll eat and maybe spar after dinner." No one objected. They're lunch had been of small bentos Hinata had packed, which was the smartest thing any of them had done so far on this trip. "I'll go see if there's anything we can hunt for dinner. Sasuke, I want you to find an opening to set up camp." Sasuke nodded and set off into the woods. "Naruto, go find some firewood." Naruto set his backpack down and dodged into the forest. Hinata picked it up and attached it to her own. "Hinata, follow Sasuke. Then, wait for Naruto to get back. Start a fire. Since you're probably the only one of us that can cook, you'll have to prepare dinner."

"Hai." She bowed and started off in the direction Sasuke disappeared into. Kakashi waited for her to fade away from eyesight before he dodged off to find dinner.

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"S-Sasuke-kun...!" Hinata ran after him once she finally saw him ahead. He glanced back at her before looking forward again. He stayed silent, so Hinata decided not to say anything more. They walked for about three minutes before Sasuke found a clearing in the forest.

"This'll be good." He said. He took their sleeping bags and laid them out. Hinata began making a small pit in the ground. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"I-If you make a pit," She grunted, tearing away the dirt. "t-the smoke only has one way t-to go." When she was done, she took rocks and placed them around the pit. Then she placed old leaves in the pit.

"Where'd you learn so much about building fires?" He really was inquisitive about how such a shy girl knew so much about making fire.

"Not j-just making fires. I-I know a lot about camping a-and hunting." She got off of her knees and wiped dirt and dust from her hands and pants.

"How did you stumble upon this information?" He asked.

"M-My maid. She was a shinobi b-before my father asked her to be at m-my service. She is really more like a-an older sister than a servant." Hinata sighed. "S-She was so worried when I-I told her that I would b-be going on a mission." Sasuke nodded and sat on his sleeping bag. Hinata was such a nice and caring person. She understood so much about everything.

"Hinata... I want to tell you something..." Hinata looked up at him curiously. "I....need to tell someone... You seem like a pretty trustworthy person, So I--" Sasuke was interrupted by someone shouting.

"It took me forever to find this place!" Naruto yelled as he walked into the clearing. "You found a pretty good clearing." He said, looking around with a large pile of wood in his arms. Sasuke gritted his teeth and sighed.

"Dobe..." He mumbled, but Naruto didn't hear him.

He handed Hinata the firewood. She stacked it neatly around the base of her one-and-a-half feet deep pit. She then threw a few pieces of the wood into the pit. But she thought of something.

"I-I'm not very fast at l-lighting fires, so t-this might take awhile...." Hinata's voice trailed off. She would fail her team, because she honestly had no idea how to light a fire. Sasuke got up and walked over to the pit.

"I'll light it." He said simply. Before Hinata had any time to ask questions, Sasuke did a few hand signs and blew a small fire into the pit. Hinata smiled slightly as Naruto stared at him dumbfounded. "Katon no Jutsu." Sasuke said when he was finished.

"What was that?" Naruto asked. "You just blew fire out of your mouth!!"

"K-Katon is a jutsu passed down th-through the Uchiha clan. There are a lot of d-different kinds. Right, S-Sasuke-kun?" Hinata asked. He just nodded and walked back to his sleeping bag. The fire was soon large enough to cook on, so Hinata began cutting the pieces of wood into smaller pieces.

"Wow, Hinata. Do you go camping a lot?" Naruto asked. Sasuke chuckled. Naruto looked at him, confused. Hinata didn't say anything. "What? I just asked her a question.""Hinata is the heiress to the Hyuuga clan. Do you really think her father lets her go camping?" Sasuke asked, smirking. "I doubt her father even wanted her to leave the village."

"A-Actually," Hinata gulped. "F-Father doesn't really....care w-what I do...." She sighed as Sasuke and Naruto gave her strange looks. Suddenly, Naruto smiled widely.

"I'll bet your dad is the coolest, then!" Hinata stared at him for a moment before looking away. She shook her head. Naruto's smile faded into confusion.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked his and Naruto's question. "Your father--" But Hinata interrupted.

"My father is the leader of the H-Hyuuga estate, and all that live within our walls. I-I was the first child he had, and therefore, the heir to the Hyuuga. B-But....it's not me who should inherit that right." She paused as Sasuke and Naruto waited for her to go on. "I-I'm not strong enough. I'm a failure, and I-I always mess up. My younger sister, H-Hanabi, should be the next leader. That's wh-what my father thinks." Her two teammates stayed quiet for a moment, letting it sink in. Naruto was the first to speak up.

"So what!?" Hinata's eyes widened as she looked at her teammate. "If that's what he thinks, then screw him! You're going to be a great heir, Hinata, and if he can't see that, then he doesn't deserve to be your father!""Naruto's right." Sasuke said, doing something in the dirt. "You are strong. I don't understand how he can see you like that. All he's looking at is your faults, and he doesn't see the person you are beneath that." Sasuke stared at the ground.

"And if he says something else to you, then call me over! I'll put him in his place!" Naruto said, smiling and sticking his chest out with pride. Hinata giggled. The team talked for a little while longer before Kakashi-sensei showed up with a couple of rabbits and some fish.

"Dinner!!" Naruto yelled as Kakashi emerged from the forest. He sighed and set them next to the fire. Hinata dug around in her back for a moment before bringing out a frying pan and a grate to cook with.

"Is there anything you didn't think of?" Sasuke asked her, smirking. She had extra water, bentos for everyone, and now things to cook with in case they were camping.

"Even though I'm a jonin, I didn't think about that stuff." Hinata smiled.

"M-Minako-chan packed everything for me." Hinata said.

"Your maid?" Naruto asked. Hinata nodded, smiling. She set the grate over the fire, but not the frying pan. "Aren't you going to cook?" Naruto asked as Hinata picked up one of the rabbits.

"We need t-to skin it." She said. Naruto nodded. "O-Oh...! Naruto-kun, S-Sasuke-kun, will you skin t-them? I need to get s-something from the forest..." She told her teammates. They gave her strange looks before nodding. Hinata got up and walked into the woods as Sasuke and Naruto started skinning and cutting the rabbits apart.

Hinata came back about five minutes later with natural herbs and some more water. Naruto's and Sasuke's hands were bloody from the rabbit and fish they had been working on. Hinata smiled as she kneeled down and took out one of her kunai. She cut apart the one of the rabbits and set it in the frying pan.

"What are those?" Naruto asked as Hinata sprinkled a few of her herbs over the different parts of their dinner.

"N-Natural herbs and spices..." Hinata said, wiping her kunai off. "To g-give it some flavor." Naruto nodded. Not another word was spoken as Team 7 skinned and cooked their dinners. Hinata laid the cooked meat onto a piece of paper.

"What are we going to eat off of?" Naruto asked. Hinata blushed as she looked around.

"I.....I hadn't thought a-about that..." Hinata said. She sank down, looking defeated. Sasuke thought for a moment. He took the longest piece of wood from the stack and started trimming it with a kunai. He made four skinny but sturdy sticks and handed one to each of his teammates, then to his sensei.

"A-Arigato." Hinata thanked him smiling. He nodded back and stuck his stick into one of the pieces of fish. Naruto stuck his stick into the biggest piece of rabbit and started happily chewing it.

"Wow, Hinata! This is amazing!" He said with a mouth full of food. "How did you make it so tasty?"

"The herbs a-and spices...." She said, staring at the food. She didn't even pick any up with her stick. She just stared, thinking about things. It seemed to her that no one noticed, except Kakashi. He thought it was strange, but decided to keep his mouth shut. When everyone was done, Hinata took out some plastic wrapping she had been saving and tightly wrapped up the leftover food. She then placed it in a bento from this afternoon.

"Alright, I feel so refreshed!" Naruto said, laying back and patting his stomach. "It was delicious, Hinata!" Hinata only nodded.

Kakashi stood up. "I'll be back later." He said simply, and disappeared with a poof of smoke.

"Where is he going in the middle of nowhere?" Naruto asked. Hinata shook her head. She didn't feel like talking. "Oh, hey, temme!!" Naruto sat up and looked at Sasuke, who glared back. "Let's spar! The sun is giving off enough light for one or two matches, isn't it, Hinata?" She nodded. Sasuke didn't say anything, but stood up and walked to the clearest end of the space. Naruto followed, smiling from ear to ear. Hinata jumped up into a tree to watch from above.

"Alright, here are the rules!" Naruto said. "This is only hand-to-hand combat, so no genjutsu or ninjutsu!" Sasuke nodded. "Now, shall I start?" Naruto looked at Sasuke. Sasuke only shrugged his shoulders. Naruto ran at him, slowly at first, but he gradually got faster as his steps carried him toward the raven-haired Uchiha.

Hinata hardly paid attention to the fight going on below her. Instead, she thought about things that have been on her mind for a long time. She hadn't eaten dinner, but she wasn't that hungry. Her mind thought about everything that had been going on in the past few months.

_'Naruto-kun....Sasuke-kun....and Kakashi-sensei. Father, Hanabi-chan.....Neji-nii-san. Being leader. I can't..... I don't have what it takes. I'm afraid....' _She finally admitted it to herself. She was afraid of running a whole clan by herself. _'Team 7...D-rank missions.... And now this? Things are moving too fast. I don't know if I can go on too much longer. I'm petrified of what lies ahead....' _The words came to her broken and crushed. She hugged her knees and leaned on the tree trunk. Her eyes slowly closed. _'Mother....what should I do?'_

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Hinata woke up a little while later to radiant blue pools. She gasped and almost flew backwards, but Naruto grabbed her hands and pulled her up.

"Hey, we were looking for you!" Naruto said, smiling. Hinata looked behind Naruto to see Sasuke, standing on another tree branch with his arms crossed. He glanced at her for the briefest of moments to make sure she was okay. The sun was just losing sight behind the hills, and the stars were becoming visible.

"Sensei still isn't back yet, and I doubt he'll be back before we fall asleep." Sasuke said, changing the subject. "So we should probably lay down soon to try and get some sleep, if any."

"Yeah, I'm not used to sleeping outside." Naruto said, glancing around nervously. "I don't know what lies around us in these woods. It's all-too new to me." Hinata looked at her feet. She stood up. Naruto looked up at her, and jumped to another branch so he could stand up, too. "Hinata? What's wrong?" He asked. Her bangs covered her face.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it...." She let her voice trail off. "I'm going to put some more wood on the fire." She jumped back into the clearing and dropped a few new pieces of wood on to their dying fire.

"I have a feeling," Sasuke said to Naruto, out of Hinata's ear shot. "that there is much more going on with her than she leads on." Naruto nodded. He, too, felt as though something was wrong with his petite teammate. But, there was something going on inside of him, too. He had no idea what it was, but he kind of liked it. This unfamiliar, yet.......comfortable feeling. But Hinata was in pain, and he wanted to know why.

"Maybe we should just leave her alone for now." Naruto said. Sasuke didn't say anything. He knew that neither he nor Naruto knew how to handle something like this. Hinata had been acting strange, even this morning, but she tried to be a lot happier then. Now she looked like a soulless shell, letting nothing out or in. Their sensei was no where to be found, either. "Let's go to bed." Naruto snapped Sasuke back into reality. He simply nodded and jumped from the tree.

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Sasuke stared up at the sky as the fire became dimmer and dimmer. He couldn't sleep. There was too much on his mind. Hinata had definitely been acting weird, and he wanted to know why. Kakashi-sensei still wasn't back. He rolled over and looked at his teammates lying around the fire.

Naruto snored softly with his arms and legs sprawled out in all which directions. He was completely off the sleeping bag. It was almost funny. Sasuke glanced at Hinata. Her shoulders slowly fell up and down, but he wasn't sure if she was asleep or pretending to be. Her back was turned to him. But he was almost desperate to ask her about her problems. Finally, he dug up enough courage.

"Hinata...?" He said in a soft whisper. He stared at her, but nothing came in reply. She was asleep. He looked back up to the stars.

"Y-Yes...?" Her almost silent voice startled him. He rolled over and saw her soft face staring at him. She rolled herself the rest of the way to get a better look at him. "W-What is it...?"

"Oh, um..." He blushed slightly. He had never done this before. "I just...you know..." She gave him a curious look. "I just wanted to know...what was up earlier..." She stared at him for a moment before rolling onto her back. He didn't think he was going to get a reply.

"Nothing...." She said. "I-I just had a l-lot on my mind. Th-That's all...." She looked at him again. He nodded and turned over. "B-But, Sasuke-kun," She captured his attention again. "What w-were you going to tell m-me earlier....?" Sasuke thought back until he finally realized what she was talking about. It was stupid to try and even bring 'it' up.

"Never mind." He said. "Go to sleep." Hinata knew Sasuke's personality sort of well, and she knew that he didn't want to talk of it any further, so she just nodded and rolled over.

"G-Good night, Sasuke-kun..."

"Hm." Was all he said in response.

--------------------------------------------------

OHMYGOSH!!!!

I'm soooo sorry everyone! Two effing years?? Wtf is wrong with me?

Now, I wrote this chapter FOREVER ago, but I guess I just…forgot? Which doesn't really make sense, seeing as I have LOTS of stories on hold and such. But two years. Wow. Time flies.

Um, so, I reread the story and noticed a lot of failures in it, but I hope those are okay with all of you. I'm going to get started ASAP on the next chapter and hopefully have it up in a few business days. Haha. Netflix commercial.

Ahem. All joking aside, I'm extremely sorry for the late late late late LATE update and I want to make it all up to you. In the two years since my last chapter, my writing skills have greatly evolved and I plan on making the next chapter LONG AND WONDERFUL! Please don't yell at me.

Holy Hell.

Again, I'm sorry. And I know that you guys probably hate me and everything, and I know this chapter isn't NEARLY as long as all the others have been, but I will make it up to you. Very soon.

PLEASE keep reading. I LOVE MY READERS AND I WANT YOU ALL TO BE HAPPY WITH ME!

~DarkAnimeAngel13


	6. An Author Note!

Ohmygosh, guys, would you kill me if I said I had completely forgotten about this story? Because, well, I did. Hehe.

It happens to the best of us, right? I mean, one day you're typing up a fan fiction, happy as can be, then the next, WHAM! Life hits and you, well, completely forget about the story you were working on.

Bad news, though, I lost the chapter I was working on before, so I'm going to try and rewrite it, but first I have to reread my story so I can figure out what the hell is going on in it. Honestly, I have no clue.

I haven't read it yet, so as I sit here writing, I'll tell you what I remember.

Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke at some restaurant that some foreign guy had opened, so he didn't know about the nine-tailed fox.

All of them getting new outfits.

Kakashi always being late - but that's a given.

Did I write about Hinata's crappy household? I don't recall…

And some other stuff I don't think I posted in the first place.

So yeah. It's bad, right? But, seriously, I'll make this all up to you by writing the most kick-ass Naruto/Hinata/Sasuke story ever written! Because, in the two years I haven't really gotten around to this, my writing skills have gone up. I wrote a 42-page story for a friend of mine up in Minnesota about zombies, and all my friends are telling me to try and get it published.

I'm not bragging. I'm just trying to get you all excited for this chapter.

So, I'm going to go start it RIGHT NOW and work all night and day if I have to, until I finish it. Because that's what good authors do. They please the readers.

I know, I know. I've made this promise before. But this is LEGIT. If a new chapter isn't up in, oh, two weeks, you can all hunt me down and sue me.

My writing style may be a little different, but it'll be just as good, okay?

Thank you to all of those readers who have stuck around and done everything short of physically kill me to get this chapter. It's YOU who I'm writing to!

-Trish


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